Not So Wild At Heart (The Straight Story (DVD))

Member Name: Jake Speed

Product:	The Straight Story (DVD)
Date:	28/09/09 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Charming

Disadvantages: A tad slow for some perhaps

The Straight Story is a 1999 film directed by David Lynch. The central protagonist of the film is Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth), a frail but dignified and proud 73-year-old man who gets around rather unsteadily with the aid of a pair of walking sticks. The grizzled Alvin is a World War 2 veteran and lives quietly with his daughter Rose (Sissy Spacek), a simple soul troubled by painful separation from her children, in rural Iowa. One night during a big thunderstorm, a troubled Alvin finds out that his long estranged brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton) has suffered a stroke and resolves to go and see him in person to mend their relationship before it is too late. "Anger, vanity, you mix that together with liquor, you've got two brothers that haven't spoken in ten years," says Alvin. "Whatever it was that made me and Lyle so mad don't matter anymore. I want to make peace, I want to sit with him, look up at the stars... like we used to do, so long ago." Unfortunately, Lyle lives some 500 miles away and Alvin is unable to drive anymore because of his failing eyesight. Determined to go and see Lyle under his own steam, Alvin hatches a novel and eccentric plan to drive there on his old seated lawn mower but it duly conks out on him almost as soon as he begins the long journey. The stubborn and defiant Alvin refuses to give up though and visits Tom the Dealer (Everett McGill) who kindly lends him a 66' John Deere riding lawn mower. With a maximum speed of only 5 miles per hour, Alvin finally sets off on his very personal and lengthy quest to patch things up with Lyle.

The warmest and most accessible feature to come from David Lynch, The Straight Story, which was based on a true story, is an utterly charming and beautifully directed little film with lovely cinematography, wonderful performances and some nice gentle humour. It's always a pleasure to be in the leisurely company of Alvin Straight, touchingly portrayed by the late Richard Farnsworth, on his six week journey through autumnal landscapes as he meets a runaway hitchiker, becomes embroiled in a cycle race, relies on the kindness of strangers when his lawnmower periodically grinds to a halt and much more besides. Even the title of the film is a nod to the fact that this is not your average David Lynch film, The Straight Story eschewing the twisting darkness of the director's usual fare to present an unashamedly old-fashioned and sweet tale. "My brother and I said some unforgivable things the last time we met," says Alvin of Lyle. "But I'm trying to put that behind me and this trip is a hard swallow of my pride. I just hope I'm not too late... a brother's a brother." The personal nature of Alvin's odyessy makes it all the more important and allows the viewer to root for the character to make it to Lyle's house in his chosen fashion.

That Alvin's journey is such an eccentric and tortuously slow one allows Lynch to amusingly riff on the road picture elements of his body of work, slyly subverting our expectations of what to expect from him as a director and storyteller. When, for example, Alvin sets off on his travels, we see the familiar POV shot of yellow lines in the middle of the road coming towards us but we can see every detail to indicate Alvin's modest speed in contrast to the usual blurred yellow lines shooting at us as a car races down a lonely stretch of road. A swooping crane shot takes us away from Alvin crawling along on his lawn mower to clouds and then presently back to him - but he's hardly moved at all in the meantime! Lynch throws in some nice visual jokes like this at the start of Alvin's journey. Despite the fact there isn't a cherry pie, backward talking dwarf or nightmarish dream sequence in sight, The Straight Story still though has some enjoyable little Lynchian moments and elements. The wonderful and atmospheric use of stars early in the picture, Rose's strange obsession with bird-houses, and the bickering twin mechanics that Alvin meets. Although The Straight Story is probably the most normal film David Lynch has ever made Alvin's journey is always somewhat surreal, not least because of the manner he has chosen to undertake it!

The film features lovely photography by the veteran Freddie Francis and the rural landscapes make a very pleasant backdrop at times with morning mists and sweeping overhead shots of combine harvesters at work and rolling fields. There is a nice sequence too where Alvin's lawn mower careers out of control down a steep hill and we see a strange burning building in the background. Naturally this has a mundane explanation but it's another little flash of Lynch weirdness in an otherwise straight film. The man against the odds theme is nicely conveyed by Alvin's diminutive lawn mower slowly chugging along and frequently being overtaken by huge noisy trucks and there are some lovely vignettes along the way, including a meeting between Alvin and a young hitchhiker who has run away from her family. Alvin's fireside chat to the hitchhiker is gently touching, as are scenes where he is temporarily taken in by a family when his lawn mower breaks down. "You're a kind man talking to a stubborn man," says Alvin when offered a lift to Lyle's house. "I still want to finish this the way I started it." The Straight Story is a charming slice of small town Americana with both humour and drama.

Alvin's encounters with various ordinary characters on the road create plenty of nice little moments that stay in the memory and Farnsworth always gives a great performance as the proud, flawed, but decent Alvin Straight, a man who has seen practically all that life can throw up and now has one last thing to do before it becomes too late. "Well," says Alvin when asked about getting old. "I can't imagine anything good about being blind and lame at the same time but at my age I've seen about all that life has to dish out. I know to separate the wheat from the chaff, and let the small stuff fall away." Alvin's homespun wisdom is pleasantly indicative of the old-fashioned nature of a film that is a good natured, slow-moving and rewards those who fall for its many quiet and subdued charms. Even something as simple as Alvin drinking some beer for the first time in years is strangely moving. The film belongs to Farnsworth but Sissy Spacek is also touching as Rose and it's nice to see Lynch regulars Harry Dean Stanton and Everett McGill in the cast.

The Straight Story is a David Lynch film that people of all ages can enjoy. It's poignant and charming with interesting backdrops and memorable encounters on the road between Alvin and the people he meets. Highly recommended.

Summary: The Lawnmower Man