The Straight Story (1999)
When you think of David Lynch, your mind likely drifts to surreal nightmares, flickering neon, and industrial dread. You do not, typically, picture a family-friendly road trip across the American Midwest on a ride-on lawnmower. Yet here we are, and I mean that as the highest possible compliment: The Straight Story is arguably one of the most profoundly moving films of Lynch's entire career, and it is the one that least resembles anything else in his catalogue.
The film follows the true story of Alvin Straight, an elderly man in failing health who, upon learning his estranged brother has suffered a stroke some 260 miles away, decides to make the journey to see him. Unable to legally drive a car due to his poor eyesight, Alvin exploits a charming little legal loophole: there is no law against driving a lawnmower on the highway. So, quite simply, that is exactly what he does. Slowly. Determinedly. On his own terms.
The emotional anchor of the whole thing is the late, great Richard Farnsworth, whose casting is nothing short of miraculous. He plays Alvin with a quiet, weathered dignity, and brings a profound sense of lived-in truth to every scene. Knowing that Farnsworth himself was battling terminal cancer during production adds a deeply moving, almost unbearable layer of poignancy to his performance. He never overplays a single moment. He does not need to. It is all there in his face, in the pauses, in the way he settles into the seat of that mower like a man who has made his peace with the world but has one last thing left to do.
He is brilliantly matched by Sissy Spacek, who plays his daughter Rose. I have said it before reviewing Carrie, and I will say it again: Spacek is easily one of the most criminally underrated actresses of her generation. Her grounded, empathetic presence here perfectly balances Alvin's stubborn, quiet determination. Together, they establish a relationship in very little screen time that feels utterly real and completely earned.
I am an absolute sucker for the film's auditory landscape too. Angelo Badalamenti, Lynch's usual collaborator in all things eerie, pivots beautifully here to compose a sweeping, heartfelt soundscape of Americana. It is a score built on weeping fiddles, warm steel guitars, and gentle, rolling melodies that perfectly capture the vast, sun-drenched expanses of the rural heartland. It never manipulates you. It acts instead as a gentle, rhythmic companion to Alvin's slow, methodical progress, turning a mundane journey into something genuinely mythic. Badalamenti is often celebrated for his unsettling work elsewhere, but this might be my favourite thing he ever put his name to.
What strikes me most, though, is the restraint Lynch shows throughout. He strips away all his trademark stylistic trickery to deliver a picture of remarkable clarity and grace. There is a scene where Alvin sits with a stranger at dusk and they simply talk, two old men trading the kind of hard-won wisdom that only comes from having lived long enough to regret things, and Lynch just lets it breathe. No cuts, no tricks, no score swelling underneath. It is the kind of filmmaking confidence that most directors spend entire careers trying to find.
This is the kind of modern folklore we desperately need. A tale that does not rely on extravagant legends or flashy spectacle, but on a singular, stubborn feat of deep human love. It sits in an interesting place alongside other American road pictures. I have always loved Badlands for the way it uses the open road as a mirror for something darker in the national character, but The Straight Story is almost its spiritual opposite: where that film finds menace in the landscape, this one finds grace.
For anyone willing to take the slow road, it is an absolute triumph. Four stars.
Rating: ★★★★ | Year: 1999 | Watched: 2026-08-06
Where to watch
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