The late David Lynch was always best known for his fascination with the grotesque. Although Lynch never considered himself a surrealist, his films often stretched into the surreal, presenting a dark, bent version of reality where only dream logic applies. His debut feature, “Eraserhead,” he once described as “a dream of dark and troubling things.” Many celebrated his controversial 1986 neo-noir “Blue Velvet,” a film that is full of murder, kink, and aggressive sexuality. He deconstructed soap opera dynamics with his somnambulistic TV series (and subsequent feature film version of) “Twin Peaks,” went on a lusty crime spree with “Wild at Heart,” and made a shadowy contemplation of shifting identities with his porn-inflected 1997 flick “Lost Highway.”
Then, in 1999, Lynch did the strangest thing he could have possibly done. He made a G-rated biographical movie for the Disney company.
For “The Straight Story,” Lynch eschewed his usual obsessions with sex, death, and violence, and instead made a quiet, slow-moving, incredibly gentle film about an elderly man longing to reconnect with his estranged brother. The film told the true story of Alvin Straight, a 73-year-old Iowa man with a fascinating story to tell. It seems that, in 1994, Alvin’s brother Henry suffered a stroke and barely survived. Alvin wanted to go see his brother, but a string of health maladies, as well as bad vision, had taken away his driver’s license and prevented him from driving a car. Alvin, undeterred, knew that he could still legally pilot his 1966 John Deere riding lawnmower, a vehicle with a top speed of five miles per hour. He drove his riding mower all the way from Iowa to Blue River, Wisconsin, where Henry lived. The 261-mile trip took Alvin six weeks.
Lynch cast retired actor Richard Farnsworth as Alvin and told a bright, casual, slow-moving story about family, travel, and the American heartland. Despite the material, it’s still very much a David Lynch movie.
Premium IPTV Experience with line4k
Experience the ultimate entertainment with our premium IPTV service. Watch your favorite channels, movies, and sports events in stunning 4K quality. Enjoy seamless streaming with zero buffering and access to over 10,000+ channels worldwide.
