Straight Story

Date:   May 20, 2000

Cast:

Directors: David Lynch 

Certain directors are usually are usually associated with a corresponding style or expectation.  For example, Spielberg can make an epic story, Oliver Stone will inspire controversy and Ron Howard will make a feel good movie.  The mention of the name David Lynch usually provokes thoughts of odd, twisted multi-layered character studies, that may or may not, be comprehensible.  What is usually forgotten about Lynch is that he is a masterful storyteller, and writer of characters.  Being from a small town, he also understands the complex simplicity that exists within the boundaries and denizens of Everytown U.S.A.  The Straight Story is not just a focus on these towns, but on how life can be broken down into its simplest form, to deal with its most complex complicated obstacles. 

Alvin Straight is a common man, who has lived a full and complete life on “his terms”.  He started it, lived it, and feels he must finish it, on those terms.   This fact is evident in his deep, but emotional eyes.  His body has been racked by life’s experiences, moves slowly, but at just the right speed for him.  His past is drawn out like a roadmap, via the lines on his face and unwound slowly for us through the movie. He lives with his mentally challenged daughter in a routine life; he frequents the same stores and hangs out with the same group of people doing the same thing.  He is a man who has finished life, and is now just enjoying being an “everybody” amongst the townsfolk.  Upon finding out his brother has fallen ill, he decides to trek to see him, despite the trip being 370 miles away.  Now that doesn’t sound like a long journey, but Alvin doesn’t see well, have a driver’s license or really trust anyone driving him.  His solution is to use the only mode of transport that he has; his riding lawnmower.  Along the way, Straight encounters a cross section of small town denizens, representative of those who inhabit the little town and cities across America.  It is obvious that Lynch understands these characters, having grown up in a small-town America (Missoula Montana) and it shows in these characterizations.  However this is not a movie completely about small towns, or the journey across a state.  It is a movie representative of the final journey of a man who has come to peace with his life.  Along the way, he passes advice along, based upon what he’s been through, sort of like a pied pieper of wisdom. 

Richard Farnsworth is perfection in this role and completely deserving of all the accolades lavished upon him. The former stuntman is soft spoken, and says so much in his face and actions, without saying anything at all.  He seems so comfortable, and natural, that he is Alvin.   It is as if Lynch wrote Straight’s character specifically for Farnsworth, except for the fact that this is based upon a true story, and Lynch has just written and adapted it with a touch that most forgot that he had.  Supporting performances featuring Lynch regular Everett McGill, and a touchingly real Sissy Spacek populate the film, and are too numerous mention, but worth seeing.  They set the mood, and the landscape against which Alvin travels, and operates.  It gives an associative feeling during Alvin’s travels.

 Some people tend to focus on Lynch, and his stereotypical oddity in films like Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Lost Highway, not to mention the television series Twin Peaks.  However it is easy to overlook that the reason these are, for the most part, effective is due to the fact that he is such a masterful storyteller, and translator of real characters onto the screen.  The only touch of Lynch that is literally visible is in the cinematography.  The sweeping shots of the “amber waves of grain”, the silhouettes against the stunning sunsets, and the trademark close-ups and reaction shots of people become characters themselves.  As the story progresses, in its simple complexity, the question then becomes, what will happen, will it happen etc.  The suspense and curiosity are maintained all the way to the powerful, perfect and fitting conclusion

Ultimately, The Straight Story, is a sweet, simple masterpiece.  Lynch has shown how to take a true story, a basic story and turn it into something truly beautiful to look at and experience.  Lynch abandons his twisting plots, symbolism and dark touches, and focuses on what he does best.  He uses well-written characters, and that unique visual style to capture the charm and beauty of the Midwest, and give the history of one man’s life, across 370 miles of Iowa.  This one will, and should, capture the hearts of anyone who views it. ($$$$ out of $$$$)

Agree? Disagree, Questions? Comments?

Tell Me Here

Actor and movie information courtesy of the

Go To Reel Rambling Page