Classic Film Review: The Straight Story
An aptly named film.
By Alan Herrmann
FILM CRITIC
Most film directors have a certain type or style of film that they become associated with throughout their careers, and rarely veer far from it. These directors have a comfort zone where they know a picture will be successful and focus time and time again on what works. But sometimes we see a movie from a well-renowned director so unusual we are stunned by its originality and applaud the filmmaker’s creative courage.
Martin Scorsese, well known for violent crime films and epics, made a film called Hugo about a young boy living in a Paris train station in the 1920s where he meets pioneer filmmaker Georges Méliès. It was charming and enjoyable but a departure for him that didn’t leave a large footprint. Steven Spielberg would have better luck with the extraordinary Schindler’s List, a holocaust movie that was light years from the horror, science fiction, and action plots of his previous films. The Coen brothers’ adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel No Country for Old Men surprised audiences when the brothers’ iconic dark humor was absent from the film. It’s chilling, violent, and deadly serious. It’s also one of my favorite Cohen brothers’ movies.
David Lynch was known for his surreal, creepy, and disturbing films such as Eraserhead and Blue Velvet and the TV show Twin Peaks. But in 1999, he made the film The Straight Story, which was rated G and released by Disney! My wife and I recently had the pleasure of watching The Straight Story at the Library of Congress Packard Campus Theater in Culpeper. It turned out to be the perfect venue to watch this film.
It’s an absolutely beautiful, straightforward movie based on a true story about a 70-something retired farmer who drives his John Deere lawn mower over 250 miles to see his ailing and estranged brother. Alvin Straight, played by Richard Farnsworth in what is probably his finest role, doesn’t have a driver’s license so he attaches a makeshift trailer to his lawn mower and sets out on his journey. Even on a small scale, it has the drama, adventure, and heartbreak of a Greek odyssey.
Along the way — it will take weeks for him to reach his destination — Alvin will encounter several heartland characters: combative twins who fix tractors, a young pregnant runaway, and a small group of townspeople who offer food and shelter to the curious old-timer. Probably the oddest individual he meets, and the one who feels the most like a David Lynch character, is a woman who routinely hits deer with her car on the only stretch of road she can take to work. But most of the other characters are what could be referred to as “regular folks.”
Alvin’s encounters with people along the way and the stories they share give viewers a glimpse of their lives. They slowly unravel the secrets of Alvin’s life as well. We learn about the sadness in his past, his harrowing World War II experiences, the death of his wife, and the tragedies that befell his daughter, Rose — played by Sissy Spacek — an unsophisticated adult woman some consider “slow” who lives with Alvin and helps keep house.
Their relationship is simple and admirable. They care for each other, enjoy each other’s company, don’t always converse and even relish the quiet moments. Lynch’s use of silence and facial expressions are used to great benefit throughout the film and give the viewer a glimpse of how humans often ponder things before they speak. Farnsworth is particularly good at this. His expressive face reflects regret, sorrow, and brave determination.
Angelo Badalamenti, the film’s composer and a regular contributor in several Lynch movies, created an extraordinary score for The Straight Story. The music during the opening credits has the telltale ethereal quality we heard in Twin Peaks, but it quickly turns into a slow, meandering theme complementing the bird’s eye view of vast Iowa corn fields by using a violin and acoustic guitar. The steady repetition of the violin symbolizes Alvin’s John Deere as it slowly moves along routes dotted by farms and small towns.
The name of the film has more than one meaning. Yes, the main character’s name is Straight, but the film as a whole is straight in how the story moves along, the route Alvin takes to see his brother, and the conversations the characters have, which are to the point – in other words, straight talk.
Although I only saw Richard Farnsworth in a handful of movies, he is one of my favorite actors. He made several films and TV shows as a stuntman and bit player until his big break in 1978 with Comes a Horseman, for which he received a best supporting actor nomination. He was 58 years old. Whether the roles were big, as in Misery, or small, like in The Natural, his presence was known. When Farnsworth was offered the role of Alvin he was hesitant at first. He knew Lynch’s films were unusual and often violent with ample salty language — think Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet — but agreed to be in the movie if the cursing was toned down. Lynch conceded and the film became his only G rated production.
Farnsworth was suffering from cancer while he made the film but kept it quiet as he stoically carried on even when he could barely walk. Farnsworth was nominated for a best actor Oscar for his performance. Tragically, Farnsworth took his own life in 2000 after his battle with cancer became increasingly more difficult. He is remembered as a soft spoken, pleasant man with a grandfatherly presence, and a down-home sense of humor who always delivered it to us straight.
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