The Straight Story

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The Straight Story

DVD cover for The Straight Story
Directed by David Lynch
Produced by Pierre Edelman
Michael Polaire
Mary Sweeney
Written by John Roach
Mary Sweeney
Starring Richard Farnsworth
Sissy Spacek
Editing by Mary Sweeney
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures/Walt Disney Pictures (USA}
FilmFour (UK)
Release date(s) 21 May 1999
Running time 112 min.
Language English
Budget $10,000,000 (estimated)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Straight Story is a motion picture, released in 1999 and directed by David Lynch. It is based on the true story of Alvin Straight's journey across Iowa on a lawnmower. The film was written, edited and produced by Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime partner/editor.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) is a sickly, elderly man who lives with his adult daughter Rose (Sissy Spacek). When he hears that his estranged brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton) has suffered a stroke, he makes up his mind to go visit him and hopefully make amends. The trouble is that Alvin's legs and eyes are too impaired for him to drive a car, so he hitches a trailer to his 30-year-old riding lawnmower and sets off on the 240-mile journey from Laurens, Iowa to Mount Zion, Wisconsin.

The film is the story of Alvin's six-week journey across rural America, the people he meets, his impact on their lives, and theirs on his. It is a modern odyssey of a man dealing with his own mortality and the lasting bonds of brotherhood.

[edit] Production

Richard Farnsworth earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Alvin Straight, the oldest person ever to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. He was terminally ill with cancer during the shooting of the film, and committed suicide the following year, aged 80.

The film was shot along the actual route taken by Alvin Straight, and scenes were shot in chronological order. There are also no chapter marks on the DVD release, as David Lynch wanted the film to be watched as a whole.

[edit] Comparisons with Lynch's other works

It is the only film he didn't write (written by close associate, Mary Sweeney). Many critics and fans were pleasantly surprised that a director that often deals in bizarre, abstract, and disturbing imagery opted to make such a simple, sweet film based on a true story. The result, however, is undeniably Lynchian, using his trademark slow, dreamy pace and visually dark scenes to create a sense of peace instead of dread.

The title of the film can be taken as a double meaning: as well as referencing Alvin's surname, it can also refer to it being a straightforward story, as opposed to the complex, interweaving, mysterious plots of Lynch's previous films.

[edit] External links


The work of David Lynch
Feature films: Eraserhead • The Elephant Man • Dune • Blue Velvet • Wild at Heart • Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me • Lost Highway • The Straight Story • Mulholland Dr. • Inland Empire
TV series: Twin Peaks • American Chronicles • On the Air • Hotel Room
Other work: Short films • Industrial Symphony No. 1 • Rabbits • Darkened Room • Dumb Land • The Angriest Dog in the World
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