Straight Story

 

 

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This is an excellent film! I am not one to look for movies about old men on John Deer Tractors, BUT this movie is moving! The best part about this film is the beautiful music and scenery! I never thought I would find wheat fields beautiful, but this changed my mind.

The Straight Story is a film about an old man named Alvin Straight who hasn't talked to his brother Lyle in ten years because they said some "unforgiving things to one another." He finds out that his estranged brother is dying and he decides to make amends and say good-bye. He drives hundreds of miles with a giant trailer attached to a lawn mower. The story is based on facts.

David Lynch is known for his cutting edge, bizarre and perplexing mysteries but when taken into account with all his other films The Straight Story (and it's unusual G-rating) should be no surprise. Lynch went from the completely off-the-wall horror Eraserhead to in my opinion one of the most touching films ever made in The Elephant Man. He is no stranger to drama and it manifests itself in varying depths in every one of his films. It often shows up in the most surprising of places. Lynch is acclaimed and credited more after Mulholland Dr., however, in many years from now he will get many of the same accolades that guys like Stanley Kubrick do now for films like this one. Lynch is a master of his craft and among the best American Directors of our time. It sounds like a bold statement now but the years will tell. I for one will argue his films are timeless.

The Straight Story unfolds at a snail's pace and plays the most straight forward formulas to the tee...I'm not saying that as a drawback but it may not be for everyone. It is the perfect environment for Lynch to show he can direct a great drama with a narrative and some older actors like Richard Farnsworth (excellent as the likeable Alvin Straight) and briefly Harry Dean Stanton as Lyle. Sissy Spaceck is also excellent as Alvin's daughter. If I were to list the most touching sequences in film for me, two come from Lynch films. One scene being when John Merrick is well received by Dr. Treves' wife in the Elephant Man, and the other being a scene from The Straight Story. The scene starts off as a sort of comical and lighthearted part in the movie where twins work on Alvin's broken down lawnmower and they fight while they are doing it. It almost seems like Lynch is being exploitative at first here, but he makes you relate tremendously and feel for these two brothers (especially if you're a twin or have a brother close in age like me). It's so simple but Lynch really has created as likeable a character as you can get in Farnsworth's Straight. Another touching scene is when Alvin is asked by a few bikers what the worst thing is about growing old and he replies "remembering when I was young" with a proud smile. Farnsworth's recent death makes this statement even harder. The comment is layered but comes off as simple like the rest of this amazing film.

Mary Sweeny and John Roach deserve just as much if not more credit for writing this screenplay. I hate giving too much credit to the director but Lynch deserves to be lauded for simply taking on such a pure and uninviting project. The films his real fans appreciate are for the most part on the other side of the spectrum. It seems risky if it were not for the fact that Lynch is pretty much famous for not giving a damn about risks. However, Lynch is the kind of filmmaker who is capable of creating the most profound kind of drama, but mostly his films are viewed as guilty of shock and not seen far beyond that. When Kubrick began creating his films I'm quite sure many people did the same thing. Lynch is a filmmaking wizard and one of these days the whole world will recognize it.

The Straight story is a show that my whole family enjoyed. As a Christian family,We have tried to be choosy over the years about what our kids watch.The Straight Story is one of our favorites. It has very little bad language and nothing at all that is morally compromising. It is a great display of what family should be about and also of people helping people whenever they can. Our three teenage sons enjoyed it as much as my husband and I did. It is nice to find an entertaining film that does not rely on special effects, violence, or sexually compromising situations to keep it interesting. I highly recommend it for everyone.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A really wonderful film
When you first think of the name David Lynch, you would think more in the sense of R-rated, kinky, violent and vulgar films. Not this one. Read more

Published on May 22 2003 by bassgod103

5.0 out of 5 stars Slow is good
Richard Farnsworth stars as Alvin Straight in a David Lynch departure: a G-rated film with no weird subtext. Read more

Published on April 2 2003 by Craig Clarke

5.0 out of 5 stars The kinder, gentler David Lynch movie.
"The Straight Story" has the gorgeously colored, semi-surreal look of a typical David Lynch movie, but here the surrealism is lyrical and benign. Read more

Published on Mar 30 2003 by Miles D. Moore

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight from the Heart
Someone once ridiculed me because I said I loved this "old person's movie". Indeed this movie lacks the sex and violence and sarcasm that dominates today's Gen Xer's video... Read more

Published on Mar 23 2003 by Mama Kimmberli

5.0 out of 5 stars STRAIGHT TO THE HEART.
ITS A WONDER MOVIES LIKE THIS EVEN GET MADE. THEY HAVE NO EXPLOSIONS, NO PERVERSE SEXUAL CONTENT, NO SURREAL VIOLENCE AND NO PROFANITY. Read more

Published on Mar 17 2003 by DAVID L. WOOD

4.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, economical and heartfelt film
David Lynch, one of the contemporary cinema's true magicians, converts his power to casting white magic in this quietly intoxicating ode to silent reflection and natural... Read more

Published on Mar 14 2003 by J. Remington

2.0 out of 5 stars "That bundle . . . that's family."
Seeing a "G" rated movie in this day and age is unusual. Yet that's nothing compared to the departure cult director David Lynch made in making this film. Read more

Published on Jan 29 2003 by Steven Y.

5.0 out of 5 stars A tender story of age and reconciliation
Most film buffs would be surprised to find David Lynch directing a gentle midwestern film about an aging man traveling hundreds of miles on a John Deer lawn tractor. Read more

Published on Jan 14 2003 by Jose Ortega y Gasset

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful
All I can say besides the solid performances by Farsworth and Spacek, and the gripping simplicity of the story is that it was so beautiful that I wanted to cry.

Published on Dec 17 2002 by Cameron Craig

5.0 out of 5 stars Love's Highway
There are very few films that I gush over, and this is by far close to the top of my list. I'm not into tons of verbage describing the film's plot, neither am I in the habit of... Read more

Published on Oct 30 2002 by R. Dicicco

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