 | The Straight Story Starring: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Harry Dean Stanton |
Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) is a bona fide true life stubborn old Codger! A man of few words, his eyesight is failing, he can't get a driver's license, and now his hip is giving out. Alvin lives in a very small town in Iowa with his adult daughter (Sissy Spacek) who some might consider a bit slow, but Alvin feels she gets along just fine. Everyone likes Alvin. He gave up drinking years ago but still meets with the other old timers at the local beer hall every day and talks about whatever old timers talk about. Basically, Alvin leads a pretty quiet life. Every now and then he gets into an argument with the town doctor about medications, operations, and even the use of a walker, which Alvin refuses to use. Alvin and the doctor finally agree on the use of two canes. One night Alvin receives a phone call with the bad news that his brother (whom he has been estranged from for the last ten years) has had a serious stroke. He decides it's time to bury the hatchet and go see his ailing brother and set things right (he probably can't remember what the fight was about anyway). His brother lives just over the state line in Wisconsin some 260 miles away. After refusing bus tickets, free rides, etc., Alvin slowly rigs his old power lawnmower with a traveling "rig" and sets off. Several miles out of town his mower gives out and he has to be towed back. Upon returning home he calmly hobbles into the house, gets his shotgun, and fires both barrels into the worn out machine. With his next social security check be buys a more durable used lawn mower and soon he is off again. No one in the town including his daughter and the audience can figure out why Alvin insists on making the journey in this rather offbeat fashion. It is a mystery that isn't answered until the end. Nothing too exciting happens on the trip. He meets some nice folk along the way and all are curious as to his means of transportation but, being Midwesterners, they don't pry. Not that he doesn't have close calls and difficulties that cause the viewer to wonder if Alvin will ever arrive at his destination. It's just that Alvin seems to take life as it comes with a super human calmness. One gets the feeling that life has thrown all it has at Alvin and he's spat it right back. "Straight Story," based on a true story that David Lynch read in an obscure newspaper, is a quiet human film that draws the viewer slowly into the fascinating character of Alvin Straight. Farnsworth plays the role with a quiet style that eventually let's the character drive the entire film. Lynch is smart enough to allow the film to slowly unfold into a personal victory for Alvin Straight. When Alvin reaches his brother's small town in Wisconsin he stops at a beer tavern and celebrates with a Miller Lite. Only an actor of Farnsworth's stature could have portrayed Alvin's face as he enjoys every sip of the brew. It is a personal victory greater than any accomplished by Russell Crowe in the middle of the crowd filled Roman Coliseum in Ridley Scott's testosterone laced 'Gladiator". In any year other than 1999, I am positive that Farnsworth would have won the Oscar for this flawless performance. Spacek does quite well in her brief role. When Alvin finally comes face to face with his brother (Harry Dean Stanton), the ailing man looks at the lawnmower and says, "You drive that thing all the way out here to see me?" The look on Stanton's face answers all questions as to why Alvin chose this method of transportation. Again, only an accomplished performer as Stanton could have created that look. "Straight Story" is as human as it is personal. Director David Lynch, the Wizard of Weird, has added another interesting film to his body of work. |