| Ordinarily,
I wouldn’t give a second thought to the dunderheads that
think the world will end with the onset of the new millennium.
But who was counting on two G-rated films being among
the best of this year’s releases?
Scarier yet is the fact that both films were directed
by two of the last people you would ordinarily associate with
a G-rated film – David Mamet (The Winslow Boy) and
here, David Lynch’s The Straight Story.
Mamet’s forte seems to be cramming as many expletives
into a film as humanly possible, while Lynch’s films are a mélange
of adult language, kinky sex, gratuitous violence and deranged
characters. The
Straight Story is a different story altogether.
Story
begins with several shots of a small Midwestern town –
houses, people, businesses, landscapes.
Since Lynch is involved in the project, I held my
breath waiting for the camera to pan down and reveal a
detached body part laying in a field (a la Blue Velvet).
But it doesn’t happen.
The film’s protagonist is 73-year-old Alvin Straight
(Richard Farnsworth), a kindly old codger with bad hips,
diabetes and emphysema. Despite
his declining physical health, Straight refuses his doctor’s
advice, rebuffing the need for surgery, tests, x-rays and the
use of a walker. Straight
is a widower and lives with his slow-witted daughter Rose
(Sissy Spacek, Blast From the Past).
When he
gets news that his estranged brother Lyle has suffered a
stroke, Straight decides at once that he needs to visit his
sibling in Wisconsin. With
no car, a mentally challenged daughter, failing eyesight and
the inability to walk more than a few steps at a time,
Straight begins the trip from Laurens, Iowa to Wisconsin the
only way he can – on his riding lawnmower.
The trip takes many weeks and Straight encounters the
typical road-movie hazards along the way, including
breakdowns, hitchhikers, inclement weather and traffic
accidents. As he
chomps on cold hot dogs, he slowly waves to slack-jawed
onlookers that don’t seem sure whether to laugh, salute or
wave back.
Probably
best known for his Oscar-nominated performance in the Alan J.
Pakula western Comes a Horseman, Farnsworth gives one
of the year’s best and most heartfelt performances, and is
destined for year-end recognition.
His Straight is reminiscent of Peter Fonda’s
Oscar-nominated turn in Ulee’s Gold, with both mature
characters going to any length to preserve their family in
films that take their time to unravel.
Spacek is memorable as the birdhouse-building Rose and
could also garner accolades if Disney gives the film a big
marketing push. But
Story could be overshadowed by the Mouse House’s
unusual number of Oscar-contenders this year, including The
Sixth Sense and The Insider.
Each is capable of receiving multiple nods.
Lynch’s
(Lost Highway) direction has never been better than it
is here, reminding viewers how much can be said with long
shots, a good score and minimal dialogue.
He more than effectively portrays the severity of
Straight’s physical condition, as well as just how slowly
his lawnmower travels down the long, country roads.
And speaking of the score, it’s amazing.
Longtime Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti crafts
one beautiful melody after another, using more guitars in Story
that we’re used to hearing from the composer.
The film is wisely set in the fall, so viewers will be
treated to lush, colorful scenery that seems to burst off of
the screen.
Another old-timer, 82-year-old cinematographer Freddie
Francis (an Oscar winner for Glory) provides the
beautiful visuals.
Remarkably, the film is based on a true story and is
adapted by debut screenwriters John Roach and Mary Sweeney,
the latter also serving as the film’s editor.
1:51
– Rated  for good ol’
fun
|
