The Straight Story

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The Straight Story

G,

1999,

1h 51m,

Drama

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Watchlist

95%

116 Reviews

Tomatometer

91%

25,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

116 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

A retired farmer and widower in his 70s, Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) learns one day that his distant brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton) has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. Then he hits on the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Mar 12, 2026

4/5

The Straight Story is a heartwarmer of the sort that Lynch arguably hadn’t attempted since his version of The Elephant Man in 1980, and this was without that element of the grotesque.

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Kat Sachs

Chicago Reader

Apr 25, 2025

Sometimes a director’s best film and maybe even their most characteristic, if you really think about it, is the one you might least expect, as can be the surprising nature of auteurism.

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Dan Kois

Slate

Jan 21, 2025

When the movie’s end arrives, it’s a scene of cosmic beauty, accompanied by Angelo Badalamenti’s ethereal score—pure cinematic liftoff, a triumph of writing, direction, acting, casting, all the things that make a movie take flight.

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Josiah Teal

Battle Royale With Cheese

Feb 15, 2026

Rather than nightmarish dreamscapes or avant-garde nightclubs, the dreams of The Straight Story are as simple as the open road. And through the open road, Lynch reveals a sweetness seldom seen in his canon.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Feb 10, 2026

4/5

…The Straight Story is a very untypical David Lynch movie in that it’s a straight, rather than a twisted tale, but it’s unmistakably Lynchian from soup to nuts…marries a wholesome, folksy charm with a stark insight into mortality…

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Jack Hawkins

HeyUGuys

Feb 9, 2026

4/5

The Straight Story may be understated to a fault, but it resists everything that is cloying, cliched and trite with superlative naturalism.

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Han P

Apr 14, 2019

14/04/2019

Leia R

Apr 6, 2019

I really love David Lynch, however at this particular time of my life I'm more interested into social realism rather than surrealism and mysteries. That's why I am to state The Straight Story is my favourite movie of Lynch with this simple and touching story of an old man departing for his probably last journey in the life. This journey is not just an attempt to see his brother and reunite with him. This is also Straight's last life statement and challenge. He knows the life won't last and he decides to make a road-trip on a lawn-mower since he doesn't have driving license anymore. Lynch's movie is a rare example of his work based on the adapted screenplay. However, the way he pictures this journey is perfect. Alvin Straight possesses of tons of experiences, but he knows there is no way to utilize it anymore. It's a philosophical and beautiful picture of an old man whose life energy is waning, though his eyes are still young. I really love Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, but I would call The Straight Story my favourite movie Lynch. Twin Peaks doesn't count!

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Albus R

Feb 25, 2019

Lynch soobing your heart

Han G

Dec 6, 2018

One of the best road movies of all time. Truly one of Lynch finest films.

Abraham G

Sep 28, 2018

The Straight Story is anything but what you'd expect from David. It is a simple story, told in a simple way, without a lot to work with except Richie's performance, but man, does it hit you in the feels. I never thought that seeing a guy riding his lawnmower from one side of the frame to the other, while Angelo's amazing score is playing is enough to make me wanna curl up and hide my embarrassingly red eyes.

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Rey R

Aug 5, 2018

A truly heartwarming masterpiece. Though a simple consept the direction and acting is first class.

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David Lynch

Director

Richard Farnsworth

Alvin Straight

Sissy Spacek

Rose 'Rosie' Straight

Jane Galloway Heitz

Dorothy, Straight's Next-Door Neighbor

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Jennifer Edwards-Hughes

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Synopsis

A retired farmer and widower in his 70s, Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) learns one day that his distant brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton) has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. Then he hits on the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.

Director: David Lynch
Producer: Neal Edelstein, Mary Sweeney
Screenwriter: John Roach, Mary Sweeney
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co: Asymmetrical Productions, Walt Disney Pictures, CiBy 2000, Channel Four Films, Le Studio Canal +, Les Films Alain Sarde
Rating: G
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 21, 1999, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 11, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.2M
Runtime: 1h 51m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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