David Lynch's "The Straight Story" is the tale of a 73-year-old man named Alvin Straight that travels from Iowa to Wisconsin in order to see his estranged brother who has suffered from a stroke.
Alvin Straight collapses in his kitchen and it's a sign that he must see a doctor and begin to take care of himself. He doesn't eat right and he smokes too much. He is a man who is clearly uncomfortable with his age.
His friends and his "slow" daughter, played by Sissy Spacek, try to comfort him to the best of their abilities. Alvin finds out that his brother has had a stroke and this incident drives him to take a journey to reclaim the relationship he has lost with him.
Being old, half-blind and without a license, Alvin begins to ride to Mt. Zion, in Wisconsin, riding on his lawn mower. Attached to the mower is a small trailer where he stores food, a chair and a blanket.
He begins the trek only to have his mower die. He buys another mower and is well on his way to make the trek that will surely take him weeks to accomplish.
The film is very slow in the beginning but it is not until Alvin begins to encounter individuals on his journey that you realize that this film is a masterful character study of a man coming to terms with the meaning of his life.
He encounters a young lady on the road and Alvin relates to this pregnant-runaway how family is one of the most important things that she has going for her. After imparting to her his views, the girl disappears the next morning. Alvin is happy that he has steered this girl in the right direction.
For the rest of the story, Alvin encounters such individuals. He tells a cyclist that "the worst part of being old is remembering when your young." In a town where he stays at after a near accident he teaches twin mechanics to appreciate their brotherhood.
Also in this town he tells one character his story of how he was in the war and how he accidentally killed a friend of his. This is a beautiful scene not only because it sets up the reasoning behind Alvin's alcoholism but also because Richard Farnsworth acts the part like a true master of cinematic acting.
Farnsworth easily gives the greatest male performance of the year as a man coming to terms with his life and the importance of all the time he has left on this earth.
It is a very slow film but utterly engrossing. Certainly vastly different from we have seen from Lynch in the past--but I won't dwell on that. Lynch captures landscape and the journey this man takes to re-claim stability in the final moments of his life with an introspection that is rarely seen in character-study films.
Farnsworth emits so much emotion through every movement, every smile and every tear. He is a humble and simple man needing closure in his life. This is the story of a man whose place in the world has been already carved but must amend the relationships that are scared before he goes into the gentle starry sky. A beautiful, heart-warming and touching film.
Alvin Straight collapses in his kitchen and it's a sign that he must see a doctor and begin to take care of himself. He doesn't eat right and he smokes too much. He is a man who is clearly uncomfortable with his age.
His friends and his "slow" daughter, played by Sissy Spacek, try to comfort him to the best of their abilities. Alvin finds out that his brother has had a stroke and this incident drives him to take a journey to reclaim the relationship he has lost with him.
Being old, half-blind and without a license, Alvin begins to ride to Mt. Zion, in Wisconsin, riding on his lawn mower. Attached to the mower is a small trailer where he stores food, a chair and a blanket.
He begins the trek only to have his mower die. He buys another mower and is well on his way to make the trek that will surely take him weeks to accomplish.
The film is very slow in the beginning but it is not until Alvin begins to encounter individuals on his journey that you realize that this film is a masterful character study of a man coming to terms with the meaning of his life.
He encounters a young lady on the road and Alvin relates to this pregnant-runaway how family is one of the most important things that she has going for her. After imparting to her his views, the girl disappears the next morning. Alvin is happy that he has steered this girl in the right direction.
For the rest of the story, Alvin encounters such individuals. He tells a cyclist that "the worst part of being old is remembering when your young." In a town where he stays at after a near accident he teaches twin mechanics to appreciate their brotherhood.
Also in this town he tells one character his story of how he was in the war and how he accidentally killed a friend of his. This is a beautiful scene not only because it sets up the reasoning behind Alvin's alcoholism but also because Richard Farnsworth acts the part like a true master of cinematic acting.
Farnsworth easily gives the greatest male performance of the year as a man coming to terms with his life and the importance of all the time he has left on this earth.
It is a very slow film but utterly engrossing. Certainly vastly different from we have seen from Lynch in the past--but I won't dwell on that. Lynch captures landscape and the journey this man takes to re-claim stability in the final moments of his life with an introspection that is rarely seen in character-study films.
Farnsworth emits so much emotion through every movement, every smile and every tear. He is a humble and simple man needing closure in his life. This is the story of a man whose place in the world has been already carved but must amend the relationships that are scared before he goes into the gentle starry sky. A beautiful, heart-warming and touching film.