The Straight Story (1999)
92%RT Audience Score: 91%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
18 wins & 40 nominations total
With strong performances and director David Lynch at the helm, The Straight Story steers past sentimental byways on its ambling journey across the American heartland.
The Straight Story is a heartwarming and touching film that will make you laugh, cry, and appreciate the simple things in life. David Lynch’s departure from his usual surrealism is a welcome change, and the result is a beautiful and serene masterpiece. Watching Alvin Straight travel across the country on his lawnmower is both hilarious and inspiring, and Richard Farnsworth’s performance is nothing short of brilliant. This film is a must-see for anyone who loves a good road trip story, and for those who need a reminder that sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Buena Vista Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Grotto of the Redemption – 300 N. Broadway, West Bend, Iowa, USA
MPAA / Certificate
G
Year of Release
1999
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 51m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 21, 1999 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 7, 2000
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Richard Farnsworth, Harry Dean Stanton, Sissy Spacek, Jane Galloway Heitz, Everett McGill, Jennifer Edwards-Hughes, Barbara E Robertson, directed by David Lynch, written by John Roach, Mary Sweeney, drama, G rating, box office gross $6.2M, reviewed by Anthony Lane, Darren Richman, James Clarke, Desson Thomson, Scott Tobias, Joe Morgenstern, Leigh Paatsch, Jason Shawhan, Rachel Wagner, Nick Johnston, David Parkinson, produced by Neal Edelstein, Mary Sweeney, Buena Vista Pictures, retired farmer, widower, American heartland, lawnmower, spiritual odyssey, forgiveness, family, road trip, self-reflection, regrets, cinematography by Freddie Jones, score by Angelo Badalamenti, based on a true story
Worldwide gross: $6,416,569
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $11,517,920
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,923
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,256,044
US/Canada gross: $6,203,044
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $11,134,637
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,583
US/Canada opening weekend: $92,312
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $165,703
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,738
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $10,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $17,950,279
Production budget ranking: 1,419
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $9,666,225
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$16,098,584
ROI to date (est.): -58%
ROI ranking: 1,735
Sissy Spacek – Rose ‘Rosie’ Straight
Jane Galloway Heitz – Dorothy, Straight’s Next-Door Neighbor
Everett McGill – Tom the John Deere Dealer
Jennifer Edwards-Hughes – Brenda, the Grocery Clerk
Barbara E. Robertson – Woman on Bus
Director(s)
David Lynch
Writer(s)
John Roach, Mary Sweeney
Producer(s)
Neal Edelstein, Mary Sweeney
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
18 wins & 40 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (105) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (100) | Rotten (5)
It’s intriguing to watch the Lynch of Blue Velvet and Lost Highway feel his way toward a less wounding surrealism — into images that have power to hurt and will do none.
April 14, 2020
Anthony Lane
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
It seems only fitting that Lynch’s most unambiguous, sentimental film should concern a man named Straight and the title is entirely apposite.
March 18, 2020
Darren Richman
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Instead, like Alvin, [Lynch’s] film sets out on its mission in its own unassuming way and; inviting as those campfire flames around which so many stories have been told.
March 18, 2020
James Clarke
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
David Lynch’s movie – the finest he has made since “Blue Velvet” – is serenely bereft of postmodern cynicism.
March 18, 2020
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
With his sweet, lyrical masterpiece… David Lynch frees himself from the heavy irony and noir affectations of his last few films, discovering the pure, mythical slice of Americana previously confined to Agent Cooper’s coffee and donuts in Twin Peaks.
March 18, 2020
Scott Tobias
AV Club
TOP CRITIC
As far as I can see, [David Lynch] simply spotted a great story and embraced it. So will you.
April 4, 2018
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
TOP CRITIC
The Straight Story is a small motion-picture miracle. How could a film whose high points include a man tasting his first beer in three decades be anything else?
December 1, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
This is the act of forgiveness given the proper cinematic and moral weight it deserves, following one man across the country on a lawnmower as he tries to make amends. You will cry your face off.
September 10, 2021
Jason Shawhan
Nashville Scene
Lovely little film with a sweet and subtle lead performance you won’t soon forget
May 7, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Rachel Wagner
Rachel’s Reviews (YouTube)
It’s unlike anything else in Lynch’s filmography, and it’s genuinely brilliant.
April 7, 2020
Nick Johnston
Vanyaland
It’s hard to imagine a gentler film, yet Lynch fully exploits the stately pace to gaze fondly upon life’s rich pageant.
March 18, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
David Parkinson
Radio Times
The Straight Story could easily slide into melancholy and sentimentality without Lynch’s sensibility, an odd mix of up-by-your bootstraps American conservatism and on-the-road romanticism.
June 15, 2017
Sean Axmaker
Stream on Demand…
Plot
Seventy-three year old Alvin Straight is a simple living and stubborn man who lives on his social security. He needs to do things on his own terms. He is in failing health. Both his hips are shot, which requires him to use two canes to walk. He is diabetic. He has emphysema from years of smoking. And he has poor eyesight. Beyond the obvious maladies, he doesn’t tell his mentally disabled daughter Rose, who lives with him, of many of these issues. He learns that his brother Lyle Straight, from who he has been estranged for ten years, has just suffered a heart attack. Because of both his and Lyle’s mortality, Alvin wants to make peace with his brother before it’s too late, which means traveling from his home in the rural town of Laurens, Iowa to Lyle’s home in rural Mount Zion, Wisconsin. As with other issues in his life, he needs to make the trip on his own terms, which means on his own. As he doesn’t possess a driver’s license and since his eyesight is bad, he decides to make the trip driving his aged riding lawn mover towing a trailer which will carry his gear and double as his sleeping quarters. After one mis-start, he is on his way. On that trip, he affects and is affected by those he encounters. But he just hopes that he can finish the trip the way he started it, and before either he, Lyle or the lawn mower give out for good.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Richard Farnsworth’s performance in The Straight Story was so moving that it earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor at the age of 79.
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