Delayed Reaction: The Straight Story

Premise: An old man goes on a long journey to see his estranged brother riding a lawnmower.

 

It's no secret that I'm not a David Lynch fan. I wouldn't say I hate his movies. I take the more generous stance that I don't get them. Enough people I know and respect like his movies, that I'm willing to put the onus on me. I don't watch movies the way that David Lynch makes them. I like things that are a little more straightforward and not as subject to whims. People rave about Mulholland Drive for the exact opaqueness that I find tedious. Where some people see experimentation, I see a lack of discipline. Where some people see stylized performances, I see overacting. Every single thing I've heard about Twin Peaks: The Return sounded like it would be a tax on my patience.

 

Say what you will about me though, I do put in the time and try to keep an open mind. I've seen most of his movies by now and I've gone into every one of them hoping it would be the one to change my mind on him. I got close with The Elephant Man, which is the most studio friendly movie he made until The Straight Story.

 

A friend suggested to me that I check out The Straight Story since it is Lynch's most general audience-friendly movie. It's a Disney movie, which sure creates an interesting battle of wills (Lynch v. Disney). After coloring inside the lines so well with The Straight Story (which got a G rating...for a David Lynch movie! Let that sink in), it seems inevitable that his next movie would be a mind-fuck like Mulholland Drive. I will say, my friend was mostly right. The Straight Story was very easy to enjoy. Lynch mostly keeps this grounded. There are only a few stylistic flourishes (the scene where the woman hits the deer immediately comes to mind), and they are a welcome bit of flavor in an otherwise mundane movie.

 

I liked this movie. I didn't get to the point of loving it. It's an incredibly pleasant movie. It's structured as a series of small adventures within a larger quest (call it an Odyssey if you must) and never stays on one topic long enough to get old. Richard Farnsworth is stubborn and a little prickly but in a way that makes it easy to understand why he manages to make friends and allies out of most everyone he meets. The fact that the moment when he finally completes his journey is so subdued is weirdly satisfying. I don't doubt that a lot of what I like about the movie is because Lynch is working off a script he didn't write. It certainly makes me wish he did that more often.

 

Honestly, the big thing that I didn't care for about the movie is Sissy Spacek's role. I know this movie is based on an actual person who I imagine also had a daughter with the same disability. There was something a little too performative about how Spacek played it though. I don't know how to describe it other than it felt like David Lynch trying to sneak some of his sensibilities into the movie. Perhaps it wouldn't've bothered me as much if it wasn't someone so famous in the role. It felt stunty.

 

This was a nice relaxing watch though. The kind of thing I'd put on in place of meditating. I think the ideal way to watch this is on a couch at 11am on sunny Saturday when you've decided you aren't really up for doing anything, despite the nice weather.

 

Verdict: Weakly Recommend