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. Alvin's eyesight is bad and his daughter (Sissy Spacek) is slightly retarded and unable to drive, so he's traveling from Laurens, Iowa to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin on a riding John Deere lawn mower. It's slow going, so there's plenty of time to stop for the night and ponder the cosmos. Alvin's journeying to visit his ailing brother; they haven't spoken in years, and it's time to make peace. 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 G-rated Disney film was made by a director whose work is often described as twisted and bizarre. But Lynch is too complex an artist to be labeled, and he brings charm, grace, and kindness to his fact-based telling of The Straight Story--not to mention 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
2.
Alvin Straight (RICHARD FARNSWORTH) was 73 when he got the call about his brother.
Alvin couldn't see well enough to hold a driver's license. He walked only with the support of two canes. He didn't much care for anybody else helping him out. But when he got the call that his brother Lyle (HARRY DEAN STANTON) -- separated from him by hundreds of miles and a decade of proud silence -- had suffered a stroke, Alvin knew he had to reach him.
So, with little money but abundant determination, he climbed on his lawnmower and set out.
From two-time Oscar-nominated director David Lynch ("Blue Velvet," "The Elephant Man") comes a lyrical portrait of this real man's journey across America's Heartland. Filmed along the route that the actual Alvin Straight traversed in 1994 from Laurens, Iowa to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin, "The Straight Story" chronicles Alvin's patient odyssey and those he meets along the way. When not rolling along at five miles an hour aboard his '66 John Deere, Alvin encounters a number of strangers, from a teenage runaway to a fellow World War II veteran. By sharing his life's earned wisdom with simple stories, Alvin has a profound impact on the characters that color his pilgrimage.
Menaced by enormous, rumbling 18-wheelers, lapped by bicycle marathoners and sheltered by abandoned barns, Alvin proceeds steadfastly along on the shoulders of snaking roads toward a hopeful and long-deferred reunion with a brother whose fate he doesn't know.
3.
"The Sweetest And Most Compassionate Movie Lynch Has Ever Made." -Chicago Tribune
Based on the true story that captured the hearts of America, The Straight Story is one of those rare films offering powerful, uplifting entertainment for audiences of all ages. Directed by acclaimed, two-time Academy Award nominee David Lynch (Wild At Heart, Twin Peaks), this gentle, inspiring film celebrates the human spirit.
Academy Award nominee Richard Farnsworth (Misery, The Natural) stars as Alvin Straight -- a no-nonsense man who has never been one to lean on others. Now at an age when his eyesight denies him the ability to drive, and walking is accomplished only with the help of two canes, Alvin lives a quiet life with his daughter Rose (Academy Award winner Sissy Spacek). But when the call comes that Alvin's estranged brother, Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton, The Green Mile), has suffered a debilitating stroke, Alvin embarks on a dangerous and emotional journey to make amends. With little money, but plenty of patience and tenacity, he climbs aboard his 1966 John Deere lawnmower and plots the 260-mile course from his small Iowa town to Lyle's home in Wisconsin.
Filmed along the actual route that the real Alvin Straight traveled in 1994, The Straight Story is a heartwarming and poignant drama chronicling Alvin's six-week odyssey and the many lives he touches along the way.
4.
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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