Video Review by Marilyn Robitaille

Last Updated 09/10/01

Email: robitai@our-town.com

The Straight Story

                If you've had enough excitement for one summer, if you're ready for a movie that offers philosophical pondering instead of blood and mayhem, then rent David Lynch's The Straight Story.  A director known for his innovative style and risk taking, David Lynch chronicles this unusual story of a seventy-three year old man who sets out on an odyssey across Iowa and Wisconsin.

            Based on a true story, this movie builds its momentum ever so quietly, leaving you considerable time to digest the folk wisdom of Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth).  Alvin learns that the brother he hasn't spoken to in ten years is in poor health, so he decides to make the journey from Laurens, Iowa, to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin. With determination to repair the estranged relationship with Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton), Alvin refuses to let seemingly insurmountable obstacles to his journey stand in the way.  What begins as an idea becomes an obsession and a test of personal dignity. Although Alvin's poor health and bad eyesight prohibit him from driving (and the fact that he has no car or license), Alvin seizes the moment to prove his mettle. He determines to make the seven hundred mile trip via the only mode of transportation that he has?his John Deere riding lawn mower.  Even his daughter (Sissy Spacek) sees the futility of trying to talk him out of it.

            Alvin's journey becomes a testament to his sense of self-worth and pride. He's a man in control of his own destiny, and the two-mile per hour pace doesn't bother his sensibilities to nature, life, and the open road. He could've bought himself a bus ticket; he could've taken one of the rides offered him; he could've opted not to go. Somewhere deep inside, Alvin knows that his making the journey will be the turning point of his life. Although Alvin may be seventy-three, he's coming of age and proving something to himself.

            As Alvin's trip progresses, he crosses paths with a variety of people who have odysseys of their own.  Alvin dispenses his folk wisdom liberally, and the people that he encounters learn about life, living, and love when they're willing to listen. As a storyteller and mythmaker, Alvin joins the ranks of those mythic heroes who turn their personal narratives into universal truths. His story unfolds more slowly than most, but following the course of his odyssey is well worth the effort.  It's  not just the destination that matters; it's what you learn from making the trip.             

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