Themes: Redemption, Golden Years, Journey of Self-Discovery
Main Cast: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Jane Galloway Heitz, Everett McGill, Jennifer Edwards-Hughes
Release Year: 1999
Country: US/FR
Run Time: 111 minutes
MPAA Rating: G
Plot
David Lynch offers an uncharacteristically straightforward and warmly sentimental approach to his material in this film, based on a true story, about an elderly man's journey to reconcile with his brother. Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) is an ailing widower in his early 70's who lives in Laurens, Iowa with his daughter, Rose (Sissy Spacek), who is mildly retarded and has a speech defect. Alvin doesn't trust doctors, despite suffering from emphysema and a bad hip. Alvin learns that his brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton) has suffered a stroke and may not have long to live. Alvin and Lyle haven't spoken in 10 years, which Alvin says is mainly a matter of pride and alcohol; Alvin wants to clear his slate with his brother before it's too late. However, Lyle lives in Wisconsin, and Alvin has little money, no car, and no driver's license. He does, however, have a riding lawn mower, and so Alvin hops on board and heads northeast to Wisconsin, hoping to make it while there's still time. Along the way, Alvin makes new friends and refuses to give up on his journey, despite frequent mechanical breakdowns. Richard Farnsworth's performance as Alvin earned him an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor; it would prove to be his final screen appearance, as he died a year after the film's release. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
A G-rated, Disney-produced, family-friendly film from David Lynch seemed like a fairly questionable prospect at the time, but The Straight Story turned out to be the perfect choice for the director, allowing him to extricate himself from the nihilist-cool corner into which he'd been painted and make one of his best films in the process. Though a departure in many respects, the film also has a lot more in common with Lynch's past work than might be immediately apparent. For those who had accused Lynch of merely presenting freak shows against the backdrop of apple pie America, The Straight Story serves as a reminder that he generally sympathized with the freaks, even if he maintained a taste for apple pie. Richard Farnsworth's character embodies both aspects, a sweet patriarch whose dogged singlemindedness makes him a freak, his peculiar vehicle of choice and willingness to provide commentary causing nearly everyone he encounters to reevaluate the current status of their lives. The generous slowness of Lynch's pacing nicely matches the subtlety of Farnsworth's performance, one of hidden depths only revealed when allowed time and concentration. As with the lead, so it is with the movie, a heartfelt testament to the importance of family values -- with none of the judgmental politics usually attached to that phrase. ~ Keith Phipps, All Movie Guide
Barbara Robertson - Derr Woman; John Farley - Thorvald; John Lordan - Priest; Harry Dean Stanton - Lyle
Credit
Pat Norris - Costume Designer, David Lynch - Director, Mary Sweeney - Editor, Michael Polaire - Executive Producer, Pierre Edelman - Executive Producer, Angelo Badalamenti - Composer (Music Score), Jack Fisk - Production Designer, Freddie Francis - Cinematographer, Alain Sarde - Producer, Mary Sweeney - Producer, John F. Roach - Screenwriter, Mary Sweeney - Screenwriter, William McConnell - First Assistant Camera, Robert "Bobby Z" Zajonc - Pilot
The title of the film is a double entendre: it refers to Alvin's surname, but also refers to the story's seemingly straightforward nature, as compared to the complex, interweaving, mysterious plots of Lynch's other films.
Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) is an elderly World War II veteran who lives with his daughter Rose (Sissy Spacek), a kind woman with a mental disability. When he hears that his estranged brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton) has suffered a stroke, he makes up his mind to go visit him and hopefully make amends before he dies. But because Alvin's legs and eyes are too impaired for him to receive a driving license, he hitches a trailer to his recently purchased thirty year-old John DeereLawn tractor and sets off on the 240-mile journey from Laurens, Iowa to Mount Zion, Wisconsin.
The film follows the story of Alvin's six-week journey across rural America, the people he meets, his impact on their lives, and theirs on his. It has been called a modern odyssey of a man dealing with his own mortality and mistakes and the lasting bonds of family.
All music composed and conducted by Angelo Badalamenti.
"Laurens, Iowa"
"Rose's Theme"
"Laurens Walking"
"Sprinkler"
"Alvin's Theme"
"Final Miles"
"Country Waltz"
"Rose's Theme (Variation)"
"Country Theme"
"Crystal"
"Nostalgia"
"Farmland Tour"
"Montage"
Production
The Straight Story was independently shot along the actual route taken by Alvin Straight, and all scenes were shot in chronological order. An effect of this can be seen in the fact that there are no chapter markers on one of the DVD releases, as Lynch wanted the film to be watched as a whole.
Unlike his prior films (or any that would follow), "The Straight Story" was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures after a successful debut at Cannes, was given a G rating by the MPAA, and is the only Lynch film that Lynch himself did not have a hand in the screenplay (although it was co-written by his recurring associate, Mary Sweeney).
Richard Farnsworth was terminally ill with bone cancer during the shooting of the film, which had caused the paralysis of his legs as shown in the film. He actually took the role out of admiration for Alvin Straight, and astonished his co-workers with his tenacity during production. Because of the pain of his disease, Farnsworth committed suicide the following year, at the age of 80, at his home with a pistol.
Reception
The Straight Story was generally praised, with critics lauding Lynch's uncharacteristic subject matter. It currently holds a 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[1]
Awards and nominations
The Straight Story was the recipient of twelve awards and twenty-nine nominations.[2]
The film features various "trademarks" which recur through many of Lynch's works. This includes the close-up image of a street moving past the camera, facial disfigurement, several allusions to coffee, lumber, fire, cigarette smoking, and lightning, as well as a sense for small-town, rural life reminiscent of the positive aspects within other works such as Twin Peaks.
The beginning of this film parallels Lynch's Blue Velvet to an extent: both films begin with an elderly man collapsing at home on a sunny day in a nice, quiet town and remaining unnoticed by his family for some time before being sent to the hospital.
The ending of this film also parallels Lynch's The Elephant Man to another extent: both films end with starlit sky vision. Both explore the fundamental dilemma of identifying what constitutes a human and shapes one's possibilities.
Harry Dean Stanton and Everett McGill are frequently cast in Lynch's films.
Additionally, this is the third time McGill plays a mild-mannered, good-hearted mechanic (the first and second being his role as Big Ed in Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.)
Sissy Spacek, who has a role as Straight's daughter, previously worked with Lynch by holding the slate between takes in the set of Eraserhead, in a favor to her future husband Jack Fisk, who starred in the same movie and edited this one.
