Lone Star (1996) is an American mystery film written and directed by John Sayles and set in a small town in Texas. It features Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey, and Elizabeth Peña and deals with a sheriff's investigation into the murder of one of his predecessors. In the film's opening scene, two off-duty soldiers exploring the desert shooting range near their Army base find a partially buried human skeleton. Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper), the Sheriff of Rio County, is called to the scene and arranges for a forensic examination. It soon appears that the remains are those of Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson), who had been sheriff forty years earlier. Wade, a notoriously corrupt and violent man, had disappeared after a public confrontation with Buddy Deeds (Matthew McConaughey), Sam's late father and one of Wade's deputies. Buddy Deeds succeeded Wade as sheriff and was a popular and respected civic leader until his death 30 years later. It was on the strength of Buddy's reputation that Sam later became sheriff, although it is clear that Sam's relationship with his father was a tense one.