The Straight Story

David Lynch’s biographical road drama, based on the true story of Alvin Straight, who, in 1994 journeyed across Iowa and Wisconsin on a lawnmower in order to reconcile with his estranged brother who had suffered a stroke, is a touching slice of self-discovery - brilliantly portrayed by Richard Farnsworth, who died one year after the film’s release.

Those who expect the typical Lynch weirdness and surreal touches will be disappointed, for the The Straight Story is as straight as it gets in the world of the late David Lynch. And it’s not as if an awful lot happens either but that’s not the point here.
Alvin Straight (R. Farnsworth) is a retired WW2 veteran who lives a quiet and content life in the backwater of Laurens in Iowa. To say that his health isn’t the best would be an understatement - not just because of his age but because he refuses to give up smoking and improve his diet, despite his doctor repeatedly telling him that he is at the early stages of emphysema. He also refuses to use a Zimmer frame (who can blame him) and one day, the inevitable happens, namely when he has a bad fall in the kitchen and can’t get up. When his daughter Rose (Sissy Spacek) happens to enter the kitchen, she panics and takes Dad to the doctor, who repeats his mantra about Alvin not looking after his health.

Never mind his own health… When he learns that his estranged brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton), who lives 240 miles away in Mount Zion in Wisconsin, suffered a stroke, Alvin is adamant that he is going to visit Lyle before it may be too late. Easier said than done, seeing how Alvin is too old to drive and daughter Rose also hasn’t got a driver’s license due to a disability. Exactly what that disability is, well, it’s never really specified but it is hinted at that apparently, she’s a bit slow on the uptake though that’s disputed by Alvin. Because of her apparent disability, she was blamed for a house fire during which one of her children got badly burned, with the other three children taken away by social care officers. There’s no mention of the father’s whereabouts.
Not giving up on the idea to make his way to Wisconsin, Alvin decides that his riding mower will do just fine! Unfortunately, it isn’t long before the riding mower breaks down though luckily, a passing tour bus offers him a ride to the next town where he can get some help and a vehicle takes him and his broken down riding mower back to Laurens. From his savings, he buys a second hand John Deere 110 lawn tractor and voila, he’s on the road again.

His odyssey really begins here as he encounters various people along his journey and one of his first encounters is Crystal (Anastasia Webb), a teenage runaway up the duff who joins him for a Wiener sausage roasted over a small campfire and some fatherly advice. As his trip continues, some amused cyclists pass by and invite him to their campsite. Once again, the conversation slides between light-hearted and deep and meaningful, especially as one of the cyclists asks what it’s like being old and Alvin replies matter of factly, “Thinking of when you were young”.

More adventures lie in store, including an encounter with a barmy woman (Barbara Robertson) who has just run over another deer, hysterically complaining “Where do these deer come from?” and pointing out that she has no other option than to drive this particular route as it’s her way to work and back. Angry and in an agitated state, she drives off, with the dead deer (don’t be alarmed, it’s not a real one) lying in the middle of the road. Waste not want not Alvin reckons and decides the dead deer shall be his dinner.
As his journey continues, he has to deal with bad weather and his tractor needing repair, getting ripped-off as a consequence and in need to ring Rose for a money transfer. We also find out why, for many years, Alvin hit the bottle. Another encounter with a priest turns out to be particularly interesting, as said priest happens to know of Lyle. Alvin’s pilgrimage comes to an end when he reaches Lyle’s home though first, he needs to pluck up some courage by downing a pint or two in a bar. When Lyle finally emerges in the doorway, the encounter is marked by awkwardness and silence - it’s a five minute appearance (if that) by Harry Dean Stanton and it ends with Alvin finally sitting with his brother, looking up at the stars as they used to do many moons ago.

Richard Farnsworth was 79 at the time of filming and his face looks suitably ‘weather-beaten’ and indeed like someone who has tons of his own stories to tell. Veteran cinematographer and film director Freddie Francis lent his golden touch to the production and one gets a fair idea at just how massive the US is (and we’re only talking a 240 miles journey here). It would be interesting to see how Alvin Straight’s pilgrimage would fare nowadays in MAGA-land…

The Blu-ray release includes the following bonus material:
Audio Commentary / 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 / Image gallery / 2025 Trailer / Original Trailer.