David Lynch, straight up

>> The auteur shifts gears with The Straight Story

by MATTHEW HAYS

Critics have been marvelling about the latest feature from the sultan of surreal, David Lynch. How could the man behind such bizarre, otherworldly entries as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Lost Highway and the cult TV oddity Twin Peaks have made a based-on-a-true-story movie rooted in a realistic style?

Some context is in order. Indeed, Lynch is best known for making some of the most popular surrealist cinematic fare ever. And his last film, Lost Highway is light years away from The Straight Story. However, one of Lynch's greatest films, The Elephant Man, was shot employing very traditional ideas about cinematic realism; aside only from the opening dream sequence, Lynch used naturalistic acting styles, shot on black and white film stock and stuck to a true story.

Ironically titled, The Straight Story tells a tale which is pretty bent. Alvin Straight was a septuagenarian who learned that his estranged brother had had a stroke. Separated by several states' distance, with little or no money, Straight had few travelling options. He ended up boarding his sit-down lawn mower and heading cross-country in an effort to reconnect with his ailing brother.

It's a sweet story, and Lynch's most noteworthy coup is his considerable cast. Richard Farnsworth plays Straight with a restrained minimalism; Sissy Spacek plays his damaged daughter, a committed offspring who lurches through life with a speech impediment.

While clearly closer to realism than, say, Twin Peaks, The Straight Story isn't quite The Elephant Man either. Story has Farnsworth encounter a litany of oddball characters while on the road, including one hysterical woman who can't seem to avoid hitting deer on the highway, despite her love of the creatures. Hers is a scene that unravels as both poignant and funny.

It's just one of the moments that stand out in The Straight Story, a genuinely affecting film about strained family relations, age and the constraints of a mere mortal existence. Aside from the shift towards a more realistic presentation, I suspect the biggest adjustment Lynchphiles will have to make will be to the film's slow pace. Much of Story moves along at about the same pace as Farnsworth's lawn mower. But patience will be rewarded--this film is evidence that great things come in slow packages. :

The Straight Story opens Friday, November 26