"Is that a lawn mower?" -- A woman by the side of the road as Alvin Straight rides by

Once upon a time, a 73 year old man named Alvin Straight drove his riding lawn mower some 300 miles to visit his dying brother. This is the kind of thing that usually becomes a "feature" or "puff piece" in a newspaper or magazine and that's that. For whatever reason, or twist of fate, noted director David Lynch brings this story to the big screen and we are all the richer for that.

Richard Farnsworth portrays Alvin and it is an amazing performance. Well worthy of notice when Oscar time rolls around. He manages to absorb all of the changes that Alvin undergoes before beginning the journey that will take him some six weeks to make. He has suffered a fall and his doctor wants him to move from using canes to a walker. His daughter (Sissy Spacek giving her typical strong portrayal) is mentally challenged, and unable to work, although she makes birdhouses. She can't drive and neither can Alvin due to his poor eyesight. So when the phone rings and Alvin learns his brother is probably dying, he decides to try and find a way to go see him.

The brothers have been estranged and among the numerous pearls of wisdom that Alvin acquired during his life is the knowledge that family is an unbreakable bond. So he decides that he can ride his riding mower the 300 miles to visit his brother. He has a mower and attempts to fix it, but when that fails, he buys a John Deere and off he goes.

David Lynch has an incredible gift for bringing the small town to life on the big screen (the small screen too, but that's a different subject for a different website). People may be people everywhere, but the people in small towns are different somehow from those who reside in urban settings. It is these subtle nuances of character, the small but significant differences between life in Los Angeles and life in Podunk that Lynch articulates so well.

It is in the people that Alvin encounters and interacts with on his journey that tell so much of his story. We don't just hear it in Alvin's words. We see it in his face, particularly in his eyes, which are incredibly expressive as Alvin relates the events of his life thus far and how it has molded him into the person he is today.

I was unaware of the events that went into the making of The Straight Story until I saw it. I expected something darker, more typically Lynch. I was very pleasantly surprised at what I found. The cinematography is nothing less than candy to the hungry eye, the music perfectly attuned to the textures of Lynch's vision on screen. Add terrific acting, a moving true story and then stir in Farnsworth's magic and you have a movie that leaves you wishing it had lasted much longer.