The Straight Story is David Lynch’s 1999 film based on the true story from 1994 of 73-year-old Alvin Straight who, on hearing of his estranged brother’s stroke, decides to make the 240-mile journey from Laurens, Iowa to Mount Zion, Wisconsin on a John Deere ride on mower. The plot may not sound like your typical David Lynch film given that the word ‘Lynchian’ has come to signify anything that is dark, disturbing, dreamlike or nightmarish, and where the mundane can hide the macabre. The script was written by his then partner Mary Sweeney with John Roach. Sweeney also edited the film as well as all Lynch’s films from Blue Velvet to Inland Empire. Lynch read their script and found it too good not direct himself and although despite being a relatively conventional film by his standards it still demonstrates what a unique filmmaker he was; someone whose instincts and eye for the askew means he is rightly considered an auteur.
Richard Farnsworth is simply phenomenal as Alvin Straight; a man we meet for the first time stuck on his kitchen floor unable to get up without help. He has to walk with sticks, his failing eyesight means he has lost his licence to drive a car, and he smokes too many cigars. You feel the pain in his every movement and his frustration at the indignities that come with getting old. However, the news of his brother’s stroke motivates him to hitch a trailer of fuel and provisions to his ride-in mower and head out of town, much to the consternation of his daughter Rose (Sissy Spacek) and the protestations of his friends.
In keeping with the speed of the ride-on mower (a steady 5 mph), Lynch does not rush anything. The camera also moves slowly and actors deliver their dialogue unhurriedly and without excessive cuts. The modest pace of the journey allows Alvin to meet strangers along the way, such as the teenage runaway who is touched by his simple but moving take on family. Alvin also receives incredible kindness from strangers such as the Riordan family Alvin spends time when they let him bunk in their front yard after a dramatic breakdown. Actors are treated with enormous respect and Lynch relishes their faces, often staying tight on them in the frame and rarely cutting away, thus allowing them all the time they need to convey a full range of emotions. This is particularly true of the scene when Alvin is in a bar with a fellow Word War II veteran and they tell each other harrowing tales of fighting in the war. Where most film makers would have flashbacks and soundscapes of dramatic music and gun fire Lynch trusts the actors to have the words paint the pictures and it is incredibly moving.
In one encounter with some young cyclists he is asked “must be something good about getting old” and Alvin replies “at my age I’ve seen about everything life has to dish out. I know how to separate the wheat from the chaff and let the small stuff fade away.” This sums up so much about the film’s wisdom.
The cinematography by Oscar winner Freddie Francis makes the Midwest of America a character in the film. There are crane shots of roads stretching into the infinite distance, camera pans up to enormous skies full of huge clouds, and golden hour helicopter shots of crops being harvested. Accompanying these lush images is the music of regular collaborator Angelo Badalamenti (composer of the Twin Peaks theme) who put aside his initial scepticism of what he could bring to the film and created a score that mixes playful double-stopping fiddle to accompany the absurdity of Alvin’s journey with the lament of Spanish guitar for the film’s more poignant moments.
Sissy Spacek (Carrie, Coal Miner’s Daughter) had been friends with Lynch since Eraserhead days and, as Rose, brings an empathy to the character that was helped by spending weeks with the real-life Rose before shooting began. Other notable performances come from Anastasia Webb as Crystal the runaway, James Cada as Danny Riordan, father of the family who let him stay in their yard, and Twin Peaks fans will spot Everett McGill (Big Ed) in a small but touching scene as Tom the John Deere tractor salesman. So many of the performances are understated and reflected in long takes and slow pans and zooms. The superlative and pitch-perfect script is the film’s real heart and alongside the direction mean that people never veer too far into caricature affords everyone dignity and honesty. Richard Farnsworth’s performance as Alvin has added poignancy as he was terminally ill with cancer at the time of filming and knowing this only makes the physical pain and mental anguish he portrays all the more real.
Filmed in continuity to help preserve the realism of the journey, The Straight Story forms a strange road trilogy sitting, as it does, between 1997’s Lost Highway and 2001’s Mulholland Drive. Despite it being 27 years since I saw it at the cinema nothing about its beauty had dimmed and the restoration makes it look like it was filmed last week. As film making has sped up in line with shorter attention spans and over-stimulation from social media, this is a film that luxuriates in its characters and setting. It is often overlooked in Lynch’s filmography but even though I am drawn to the darkness of Blue Velvet or Wild at Heart I think The Straight Story is one of his best, and most completely satisfying, films. And now, thanks to the DVD, I am able to watch it more than every three decades.
Does Alvin make it to his brother’s house? Is his brother Lyle still alive? I won’t spoil the payoff but only the hardest of hearts will have dry eyes and a lump-free throat by the end.
This version of The Straight Story is released in 4K UHD and Blu-ray DVD and the remastering was supervised by David Lynch. The extras include a great double act from location managers Mark Har and Bob Medcraft reflecting on the production and a lot of excellent behind the scenes footage including interviews with writers Mary Sweeney and John Roach and an unusually candid conversation the normally cryptic Lynch.
The Straight Story will also be shown as part of the BFI’s season David Lynch: The Dreamer which pays tribute to the director a year on from his death.
EXTRAS:
Audio Commentary by Peter Tonguette
Mark And Bob Tell It Straight
Straight & Narrow: Inside The Film
Far & Wide: Inside The Score
“Straight Talking: A Making Of” Interview with David Lynch
“The Straight Story: On Set with David Lynch” Behind-The-Scene
Image Gallery
2 Trailers
Released by STUDIOCANAL
Review by Paul F Cook
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