David Lynch’s The Straight Story is an inspirational story of a man, his life journey and his lawnmower. Alvin Straight is a 75 year old man, who, with the inability to drive and weak legs decides to visit his brother in a most unusual way. Alvin Straight rides his lawnmower over 350 miles with a trailer hitched to it over the span of nearly two months to see his brother who recently had a stroke. The film centers itself around Alvin’s journey and the people he meets on the way.
This film is viewed as atypical for Lynch, telling an American tale instead of his warped, off-beat films. The Straight Story is a landmark achievement in modern film making in my opinion. So much of Hollywood now bases success of films on thrill or entertainment value. The Straight Story has few thrills; it is just the pleasant tale of a man riding his lawnmower to see his distanced brother. All the same, Alvin’s journey finds a place in our hearts throughout the whole film. I found myself running through the different scenarios of how the movie could end. Would Lyle be dead when Alvin arrived? Would Alvin die before he made it? David Lynch builds such a likable character through Alvin (played by Richard Farnsworth) that the audience feels attached to his journey. I find myself wanting Alvin to make it to Lyle just as bad as he wants to make it.
Perhaps the strongest feature of this film is the story structure. From the first turning point of Alvin deciding to go visit his brother until the second when he finally arrives, the audience never loses interest, even with the slow pacing. I love how each person Alvin encounters during his trip is significant in one way or another. The young pregnant girl at the beginning learns that family is more important than abandonment, no matter what. The cyclists learn that they should enjoy their youth while they can; because Alvin tells them how hard it is to remember what it was like being young. Alvin and the other war veteran find an outlet in each other to which they can express their sentiments to the war. The two understand each other. The hospitable man who allows Alvin to stay next to his garage while his mower is being fixed learns how much honor a man can have, how much integrity. The minister finally exposes to us the hardships of Alvin’s relationship with his brother, where it spawned and what he intends to do about it. Even Lyle at the very end of the film fills both Alvin and the audience with satisfaction that a life that is lived with persistence and integrity is rewarded in the end.
A particular aspect of David Lynch I appreciate is his ability to demonstrate symbolism through visual images. The journey of Alvin is nearly always shot from the angle of right to left in order to show that he is indeed progressing. The only time we see him from the other angle, I believe, is when his lawn mower breaks down. The audience gets the only sense in nearly the whole film that Alvin is not making any progress when he is stuck with a broken machine. Otherwise, we are constantly reminded of how far Alvin has come and how far he still has to go. Another attribute of the film that stands out is the montage sequences of the fields while Alvin is traveling. These shots exist to show the passage of time over the span of Alvin’s trip, but they also symbolically exemplify the progress of his journey. We initially see tractors working in the fields and by the end of his trip; we see fields that are nearly cleared of their harvest. As Alvin progresses, so do the farmers that live in the area. The parallel structure of such sequences adds to the slow-rising climax of the film.
The Straight Story is critically acclaimed, and with good reason. The film tells a fantastic true story of a man who was so devoted to his own ideals that he spent over 6 weeks on the road traveling for what many consider being such a minimal quest. Alvin Straight could have easily given up at any time, even taking a ride for the last 50 feet of his journey into Lyle’s driveway, but he doesn’t, he sticks with it and makes the long journey on his own. Learning and giving life lessons seems to be one of the themes of The Straight Story, and what better lesson to be learned than to follow your heart with everything you have to offer?
