The Straight Story (David Lynch, 1999): France/UK/USA

Reviewed by Byron Potau. Viewed on DVD.

David Lynch’s The Straight Story begins much like a Lynch film would, with the introduction of small town America with his slow fades from idyllic still shot to idyllic still shot, strangely offbeat characters inhabiting this world. His camera slowly moves toward the side of the house as we hear the sound of someone falling and hurting himself, however, it is not as sinister as we are led to believe and it soon becomes apparent that Lynch will play this one straight, as straight as he can be expected to. The result is a film with a touch of Lynch, but far sweeter and wholesome than anything he has ever done.

The film tells the true story of seventy three year old Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth). Alvin is living with his slightly mentally handicapped daughter, Rose (Sissy Spacek) when he hears the news that his brother has had a stroke. Alvin and his brother have not spoken in many years, but he thinks that the time has finally come to make amends. The problem is he has no way of getting to his brother who is two hundred and forty miles away. When we meet Alvin he is on the kitchen floor unable to get up. His body is breaking down and he needs to walk with two canes (too stubborn and full of pride to use a walker). His eyesight is also failing him which prevents him from driving. Determined to make this trip and do it on his own, not only to heal old wounds but as one last hurrah to prove to himself he is still independent and capable, he decides to make the journey on his lawn mower with a top speed of five miles per hour, stretching the duration of his journey to six weeks. Along the way he passes on his wisdom to some he meets while receiving a bit as well.

Lynch never lets the film get bogged down in sentimentality which could have been an easy trap to fall into. The sweetest moments of the film seem genuine and Alvin’s journey is truly moving, filled with equal parts joy and melancholy. Lynch also finds time to insert his special brand of humor, most notable in a minor scene where Alvin buys a grabber from a very reluctant friend and hardware store salesman who has grown very fond of that grabber and seems inordinately put out at the thought of selling it, even though he has two. It’s pure Lynch, and it’s hilarious.

Richard Farnsworth gets the role of a lifetime and likewise gives the performance of his career. He plays Alvin as the stubborn, old man set in his ways though the years have made him kind and gentle, but sadly aware of his deterioration. Farnsworth is excellent at showing Alvin’s tough façade, but betraying that façade with a look of fear and sadness in his eyes as he knows his spirit is outliving his body. He manages to be every man and woman’s wise old grandpa while giving a glimmer of the younger Alvin that came before him.

Sissy Spacek is also very good as Alvin’s daughter Rose, managing to imbue the character with real emotions, avoiding turning Rose into a quirky caricature with a peculiar handicap. Instead she makes Rose’s connection with her father equally as memorable as her odd speech impediment.

Integral to the film’s success is, Lynch regular, Angelo Badalmenti’s bittersweet, country tinged score of guitar and violins which give Alvin’s journey a greater scope and nostalgic feel that the audience cannot help be swayed by.

In this ode to determination, family, and the golden years Lynch not only shows he has the range and directorial skill to pull off a straightforward film, but in the process made what some might argue is his best film. I would place it among his best, but proclaim, and I believe few would argue, that it is certainly his most accessible film, and will please both fans and non fans of Lynch.