The Straight Story

Composite Score: 85.9

Starring: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Everett McGill, Harry Dean Stanton, Jane Galloway Heitz, Joseph Carpenter, Donald Wiegert, Ed Grennan, Jack Walsh, James Cada, Wiley Harker, Barbara Robertson, John Lordan, and Anastasia Webb

Director: David Lynch

Writers: John Roach and Mary Sweeney

Genres: Biography, Drama, Family

MPAA Rating: G

Box Office: $6.42 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                The Straight Story is David Lynch’s film based on the story of Alvin Straight, who traveled from Iowa to Wisconsin on his riding lawnmower at age 74 to reconcile with his older brother after the brother suffered a stroke. The film stars Richard Farnsworth as Alvin, joined by Sissy Spacek as his intellectually disabled daughter Rose and Harry Dean Stanton as his brother Lyle. It’s a road trip film that celebrates the beauty of small-town, midwestern America and of the stoicism of those aging in less fortunate circumstances. Farnsworth received an Oscar nomination for his performance, and the film continues to receive near-universal praise for Lynch’s handling of such a grounded narrative and presentation of the beauty of life in all stages, at all points.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                Though it might be the least “Lynchian” of the prolific director’s films, it’s impossible for Lynch to entirely abandon his divisive filmmaking technique, which certainly isn’t for everyone. Straightforward as the story of a man travelling across country on a riding lawnmower sounds, David Lynch still manages to make it a film about the ideas and settings more than the characters and events, which, like the rest of his films, might not hit the same for every audience. Though Alvin Straight is one of the realest and most authentic characters that Lynch has ever put in front of his camera, the supporting cast, score, and visual style all do their best to make sure you remember that you’re still watching a David Lynch product. He manages to make cornfields and dive bars feel surreal and otherworldly, forcing the audience to remember that they’re watching a film at every turn, no matter how true or stretched the story might be. Much as this could have been a story for everyone, it still feels like Lynch has gatekept it by applying his style to it. (If you read up on Alvin Straight, that does sound like something that he would’ve been fine with, though, keeping his spotlight at a minimum.)

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                If you’re someone who appreciates the work of David Lynch or who is trying to better appreciate his films, then this might be the film for you. What he does with The Straight Story is provide window dressing and increased depth for a seemingly simple story with just a few strokes of his directorial brush. John Roach and Mary Sweeney provide extra character- and world-building scenes into the tale of Straight’s trek that allow Lynch to challenge the audience with his requisite melodrama and quirkiness. Farnsworth moves through it all unphased, keeping the audience grounded with a touchingly authentic and raw performance that gets at the heart of aging in general, but particularly for his generation in the United States. By focusing on him, a reasonably odd character rather than Lynch’s usual odd ducks, we’re able to better appreciate the world that Lynch builds around him. This in turn gives additional weight to each scene and interaction because the audience feels that they know or even relate to Alvin personally, so when he’s having conversations that feel ever-so-scripted or encountering not-quite-real inhabitants of a slightly fantastical version of reality, we can appreciate better the reality on which it’s all based. As a result, the whole film is elevated, reminding us equally that this is a film but that it’s also a real story and that this kind of thing has and can happen. It reminds us to seek the reality behind the facades that people and society seek to erect just as Lynch has erected them in his own films.

                The Straight Story features an excellent combination of execution from actor and director with Farnsworth’s grounding performance allowing Lynch’s surrealist sensibilities to shine and vice versa, giving audiences a tale that’s equal parts relatable and thought-provoking, earning a place of greatness. While it’s still certainly a Lynch film, it’s probably one of the easier ones for more hesitant audiences to approach and engage with. You can currently stream it on Disney+ if you’d like to give it a go.