The Straight Story [1999]

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Throughout The Straight Story, 73-year-old Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) gazes calmly at the night sky, as if the stars were reflections of his own memories. When he hears his brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton), with whom he hasn't spoken in years, is ailing Alvin decides to go visit him and make peace. But since Alvin's eyesight is bad and his daughter (Sissy Spacek) refuses to drive him, he sets out on the 500-mile journey from Laurens, Iowa to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin on a John Deere lawnmower. It's slow going, so there's plenty of time to stop for the night and ponder the cosmos. Along the way, he befriends a variety of nice folks, and you have to ask yourself: is this really a David Lynch movie?

It's a miracle that this wholesome film was made by a director whose work is often described as twisted and bizarre. But Lynch is too complex an artist to be labelled, and he brings charm, grace and kindness to this story based on a newspaper clipping. Moreover, The Straight Story has a serenity rarely found in movies anymore. It's a film of moments--funny, odd, quietly spiritual--and this simple tale of a man, a lawnmower and rural hospitality becomes a genuine Lynchian odyssey, unlike any film you've seen but as welcoming as a cup of lemon tea with honey. Best of all, it's a fitting tribute to the career of veteran stuntman-actor Farnsworth who, at age 79, plays Alvin Straight to sheer perfection, his face a subtle roadmap to a broad spectrum of emotional destinations. --Jeff Shannon

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-06-05 rating:
A film about real people
Of course, the five-star rating here is a personal appraisal. This is not mainstream Hollywood and, in the opinion of this writer, is better for it. Had this been in any other language other than English, it would be regarded as one of the outstanding foreign films in cinema history. It is, after all, about beautiful people from the inside. A philosophical compendium based on the wisdom drawn from life experience and reflection. Just look into the eyes of Alvin as he speaks.

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review by: date: 2008-05-14 rating:
Slow Lane Blues
I was afraid that this tale of someone driving a lawnmower across part of the USA would be dull. It is not dull. The story is that an elderly, poor man, living with his slightly handicapped daughter (well played by Sissy Spacek) in (very) small town Iowa discovers that his brother has suffered a stroke in neighbouring Wisconsin. Unwilling to travel by bus and without a car, he adapts a ride-on lawnmower for the trip! He encounters interesting and odd people, some very pleasant and helpful ones among them. Eventually he reaches his destination.

This is very much a film where the important part of the journey is the travelling and not the arriving. It is a lot more compelling than you think it will be before you watch the whole of it. The amazing thing about it is that I believe that it is closely based on a real story and many of the locations used and credited at the end are those actually visited in the real-life journey. Certainly worth a look.

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review by: date: 2007-11-20 rating:
What's the worst thing about being old, Alvin?
Asks one of a group of cyclists of the central character in this quiet, classy film. 'Being able to remember when you were young' answers Alvin wryly. Alvin, whose health is failing, dispenses small, simple nuggets of wisdom throughout the film, but they never come across as cloying or corny.

I am not a fan of David Lynch films at all, and recorded this to watch if I had nothing better to do. Come a cold, rainy November day, I settled down to watch and, like most other reviewers here, saw two hours of a slow-paced, somewhat melancholy, yet deeply heartwarming and gentle-humoured film whizz by, and wished there were more of it.

You'll read a synopsis of the plot elsewhere, and it's not a complicated plot (based on a real life story), so the brilliant acting and cinematography are what will make this film stay with you and make you want to see it again. Every performance, even the very minor characters, rings true, and there are deeply moving moments when Alvin reflects out loud on his life and swaps war experiences with another veteran of WWII.

Visually, the film is like a little love poem to the rural upper Midwest; incredible sunsets, lightening storms, golden wheatfields stretching in every direction, night skies full of stars, lovely small towns set amongst autumn foliage.

I don't know what David Lynch fans would make of this untypical film, but those, like me, who find his films too 'out there' will be very pleasantly surprised. I only wish I could award it more than five stars. Absolutely superb.

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review by: date: 2007-07-16 rating:
David Lynch can make Beautiful Movies too
The Straight Story is a film about an old man named Alvin Straight who hasn't talked to his brother Lyle in ten years because they said some "unforgiving things to one another." He finds out that his estranged brother is dying and he decides to make amends and say good-bye. He drives hundreds of miles with a giant trailer attached to a lawn mower. The story is based on facts.

David Lynch is known for his cutting edge, bizarre and perplexing mysteries but when taken into account with all his other films The Straight Story (and it's unusual G-rating) should be no surprise. Lynch went from the completely off-the-wall horror Eraserhead to in my opinion one of the most touching films ever made in The Elephant Man. He is no stranger to drama and it manifests itself in varying depths in every one of his films. It often shows up in the most surprising of places. Lynch is acclaimed and credited more after Mulholland Dr., however, in many years from now he will get many of the same accolades that guys like Stanley Kubrick do now for films like this one. Lynch is a master of his craft and among the best American Directors of our time. It sounds like a bold statement now but the years will tell. I for one will argue his films are timeless.

The Straight Story unfolds at a snail's pace and plays the most straight forward formulas to the tee...I'm not saying that as a drawback but it may not be for everyone. It is the perfect environment for Lynch to show he can direct a great drama with a narrative and some older actors like Richard Farnsworth (excellent as the likeable Alvin Straight) and briefly Harry Dean Stanton as Lyle. Sissy Spaceck is also excellent as Alvin's daughter. If I were to list the most touching sequences in film for me, two come from Lynch films. One scene being when John Merrick is well received by Dr. Treves' wife in the Elephant Man, and the other being a scene from The Straight Story. The scene starts off as a sort of comical and lighthearted part in the movie where twins work on Alvin's broken down lawnmower and they fight while they are doing it. It almost seems like Lynch is being exploitative at first here, but he makes you relate tremendously and feel for these two brothers (especially if you're a twin or have a brother close in age like me). It's so simple but Lynch really has created as likeable a character as you can get in Farnsworth's Straight. Another touching scene is when Alvin is asked by a few bikers what the worst thing is about growing old and he replies "remembering when I was young" with a proud smile. Farnsworth's recent death makes this statement even harder. The comment is layered but comes off as simple like the rest of this amazing film.

Mary Sweeny and John Roach deserve just as much if not more credit for writing this screenplay. I hate giving too much credit to the director but Lynch deserves to be lauded for simply taking on such a pure and uninviting project. The films his real fans appreciate are for the most part on the other side of the spectrum. It seems risky if it were not for the fact that Lynch is pretty much famous for not giving a damn about risks. However, Lynch is the kind of filmmaker who is capable of creating the most profound kind of drama, but mostly his films are viewed as guilty of shock and not seen far beyond that. When Kubrick began creating his films I'm quite sure many people did the same thing. Lynch is a filmmaking wizard and one of these days the whole world will recognize it.


review by: date: 2007-06-16 rating:
Beautiful film
What can I possibly add to the praising wording that the majority of these reviewers already have put forth? Well, I would simply just like to say that I believe that this movie has a very rare quality. It is very down to earth in a natural and liberating way and is basically just a story about this old man who wants to make up with his brother, which he haven't seen for ten years, before its to late.

He has no drivers license and not much money, so he decides to make the long journey across America, on an old lawn mover - and as one discovers along the way, he has really made up his mind to fulfil his decision - and that even in spite of many of the peoples kind help, which includes an offer to drive him to his destination - because as I see it; that there is almost an symbolic meaning to his way of doing it, which you'll find out at the very end of the film.

Sounds boring??? Anything but... this is simply beautiful and a great and very different effort from director David Lynch. This film is almost magical in its simplicity and complete matter of course. Just check it out for yourself. If you enjoyed "Round About Smith" - well then this film could appeal to you, although that there really isn't any directly comparison.

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