Movie Talks Archives

Posted by: Fergus at October 1, 2001, 9:47 pm

Topic: Video Capsule: "The Straight Story" 10/10 Forum: JoBlo

The Straight Story
Director: David Lynch
Cast: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Everett McGill, Harry Dean Stanton.
G/ 1999/ 113 minutes. In a rather good performance, Richard Farnsworth plays Alvin Straight, a 79 year old man living in Iowa. He has nearly reached the end of his time. His body is slowly quitting on him. His hips don’t work very well. His eyesight is poor and he isn’t able to drive a car. His wife past away a few years back and he lives with his daughter (Spacek), who has a speech impediment. His life is as normal as any other aging man in the Midwest. His little brother Lyle, lives in Wisconsin and has recently suffered a stroke. But, Alvin hasn’t seen him in ten years. “Story’s as old as the bible. Cain and Abel. Anger, vanity, you mix that together with liquor, and you get two brothers that haven’t spoken in ten years.” –Alvin Alvin decides that it is time to put childish things away and move on. This, however, includes visiting his brother, who lives 300 miles away. In the only way that is suitable to his stubborn nature, he decides to journey by using his John Deere tractor. This is one of the simplest set-ups I have ever heard for a movie. I expected cliché’s; I expected corny dialogue; I expected it to be predictable. Yes, even for a David Lynch movie. But it was not what I got in return, and I was surprised. At a time like now with a nation still mourning after almost two weeks time, it is nice to sit down and watch a movie that increases your faith in the decency of people. Good folks are still around and that is good to know. David Lynch does a complete 360 from his last film Lost Highway. If there is a director who can make a great R rated film, turn around and make a great G rated one, is nonetheless a great director. Stanley Kubrick sort of did that with “2001” and “Clockwork”. Though not entirely as those films had identical themes whereas Lynch’s films carry different meanings. This is, of course a result of his incredible range as a director. Any director who can almost perfectly make two films that are entirely different from each other is just fine in my book. Everyone will die someday, it just happens to differ from person to person. Alvin knows that, but he doesn’t want to die knowing there were problems in his life left unsettled. The problem is, of course, his relationship between him and his brother. He is a stubborn man from a generation that is nearly gone. The right time has come in his life to fix his problems. Knowing it is never too late to fix his mistakes. This is a special story. A story that could’ve only been told with the utmost bit of care. Lynch took this into mind, without resorting to cliché. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful. He uses many wide shots to show the enormity of the road trip and adds mellow sounding guitar music in the background. Music and cinematography can make or break a film, and it works just fine. It is a rarity to see a G-rated film that doesn’t make me feel like I’m watching a G-rated movie. Adults will definitely appreciate this one more than kids will. It has a brain and there is much to be said from this ancient farmer. I’m amazing at what filmmakers can accomplish without going into “R” territory. Nonetheless, the entire film put a big smile on my face. I LOVED this movie. 10/10 [This message has been edited by Fergus (edited 10-01-2001).]

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