When septuagenarian Alvin Straight finds out his estranged brother is critically ill, he decides to journey across the US to see him. Unable to drive because of his deteriorating eyesight, he makes the trip on his riding lawnmower. Lynch’s immensely entertaining drama may seem more linear and conventional than his other work, but in its quiet way The Straight Story highlights the idiosyncrasies and eccentricities of everyday American life. And in his friend Stanton Lynch had an actor who could deliver the emotional weight of the film’s affecting final scenes. Screen: NFT3.
