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The Straight Story (1999)

Starring Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, James Cada, and Harry Dean Stanton.  Cinematography by Freddie Francis. Edited by Mary Sweeney.  Produced by Neal Edelstein and Mary Sweeney.  Written by John Roach and Mary Sweeney. Directed by David Lynch.

Seventy three year old Alvin Straight’s (played by Richard Farnsworth) health is starting to fail him.  Unfortunately, this is also the fate of his estranged older brother Lyle (played by (played by Harry Dean Stanton). In fact, Lyle has just suffered a stroke and is now slowly recovering at home.

Upon hearing the news, Alvin decides that it is time to swallow his pride and contact his brother, whom he hasn’t spoken to for over a decade.  His bad eyes prevent him from legally operating an automobile, so he loads up his 1966 John Deere riding lawnmower and sets off on the two hundred and forty mile journey that separates him and his brother. The maximum speed on the mower is about four miles an hour, so over the next two months Alvin has ample opportunity to soak up the landscape and interact with the people that make up the American Midwest.

Alvin Straight’s adventure was featured in The New York Times in 1994. It was in this publication that Mary Sweeney, a long time David Lynch collaborator, first read the story and became fascinated with it. She faxed the article to her old friend John Roach who quickly became equally intrigued. The two filmmakers sought to obtain the rights to the story but soon discovered that they had already been purchased.

They bided their time until February of 1998 when the option once again became available.  Once they secured the rights for themselves they promptly began work on their screenplay.  In effort to give their script an added degree of credibility the pair retraced Straight’s path between Laurens, Iowa and Mt. Zion, Wisconsin and interviewed the various people that he had come in contact with.

They then met with Straight’s children who were initially standoffish, concerned that the film would paint an unflattering picture of their eccentric father.  But after realizing the amount of respect Sweeney and Roach had for the tale, they offered their support as well as memories and pictures to fill in the gaps on the script’s lead character.  All that The Straight Story needed now was a director.

Lynch had been aware of Sweeney’s pet project since she started working on it. He had thought that she might eventually ask him if he would want to direct it, but the story didn’t initially sound like something that he would be interested in. However, he immediately changed his mind when he read the finished script.

The filmmaker who had made a career of capturing “Weird America” found The Straight Story to be right up his alley; maybe a little less weird, but definitely very American. And so less than a year after the option was purchased Lynch was on the side of a highway in Iowa shooting the first film in his career that he had not at least co-written. Lynch shot the film chronologically, hoping to effectively capture the gradual change of season and Straight’s growing beard. 

Ultimately the effort paid off and The Straight Story ended up being a resounding critical success. Sadly, it would also be Richard Farnsworth’s last film.  The legendary stuntman turned thespian, who became the oldest actor to be nominated for an Academy Award with this film, died within a year of the picture’s release.

Budget: $10,000,000

Total US Gross: $6,197,866

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 112 Minutes

US Release Date: 10/15/99

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Awards:

Academy Awards: 
Nominated for best actor. 

Golden Globes: 
Nominated for best score and best actor in a dramatic role. 

Cannes Film Festival:
Nominated for the Golden Palm.

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Quote: “You don't think about getting old when you're young.  You shouldn't.”