---
title: "The Straight Story"
year: 1999
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-straight-story"
fi1m_id: "the-straight-story"
imdb_id: "tt0166896"
tmdb_id: 404
wikidata_id: "Q1139454"
fi1m_score: 88
critics_score: 86
critics_reviews: 6
published: "2026-09-14"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:17.711383+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Straight Story (1999)

Directed by David Lynch · 1h 52m · MPA G · Drama, Adventure

## Identity

The Straight Story

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-straight-story
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-straight-story
- **IMDb ID:** tt0166896
- **TMDB ID:** 404
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1139454
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166896/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/404, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1139454

**Fi1m score: 88** · Critics 86 from 6 reviews

*In a sentence:* We did not expect a man on a lawnmower to require this much emotional preparation

> David Lynch’s patient road film earns its warmth through Richard Farnsworth’s unforced performance. Some of the roadside wisdom sounds prepared in advance, but we recommend it for the attention it gives to ordinary people.

## Synopsis

Alvin (Richard Farnsworth) is an elderly war veteran making a journey through the American heartland on a lawnmower. Along the road, he meets strangers whose conversations draw him into reflections on his life and its losses. Their encounters bring ordinary acts of kindness into a trip made at an unhurried pace. Sissy Spacek plays Rose in this drama directed by David Lynch, with a screenplay by Mary Sweeney and John Roach. The story is based on a real journey.

## Review

David Lynch asks us to take a lawnmower journey seriously, and we do. *The Straight Story* is a patient, affecting road film whose occasional fondness for homespun wisdom cannot spoil Richard Farnsworth’s performance. An elderly war veteran travelling through the American heartland could easily become someone everyone stops to praise. Farnsworth gives Alvin enough reserve to prevent that. We care about him without feeling that every expression has been chosen to make us care.

Farnsworth does little to announce how much Alvin carries with him. His manner is unforced, and the sadness never feels like a request for sympathy. We were moved more than we expected by those glassy eyes and the effort of keeping his face composed. They make the conversations about loss feel like something Alvin has had to live with, and can still find difficult to discuss. Lynch is right to give this face so much of our time.

Freddie Francis’s cinematography gives the landscape time to register without making Alvin disappear inside it. We notice the country he passes through, but the picture never becomes merely an invitation to admire the view. Jack Fisk’s production design is similarly unobtrusive, keeping the everyday surroundings plain enough that we attend to the people in them. That restraint matters in a film so ready to admire ordinary life. Too much picturesque detail would make its affection harder to believe.

Mary Sweeney’s editing accepts the pace of Alvin’s transport and makes that slowness engrossing. At 112 minutes, the film needs us to enjoy listening as much as the prospect of arriving anywhere. Sweeney gives the conversations room, allowing the performances to determine how long our attention stays with someone. Angelo Badalamenti’s music supplies warmth without making Alvin’s modest progress sound heroic. It suits a film that takes its traveller seriously while retaining a sense of how unusual his transport is.

The screenplay, by Sweeney and John Roach, is less reliable when the people Alvin meets seem ready with a useful lesson. Some of that folk wisdom sounds too neatly prepared for a casual conversation, and the oddness of certain encounters can feel imposed. We become conscious of Lynch arranging an eccentric when we would rather he let someone speak. Sissy Spacek’s performance as Rose helps keep the human scale intact. Her sensitivity makes the more obviously written exchanges elsewhere a little harder to overlook.

For a road film, this gets an unusual amount of interest from people being decent to one another. That could be dull, and Lynch’s dry humour helps prevent the encounters from becoming a succession of demonstrations of good behaviour. The warmth also leaves space for regret, with Farnsworth never suggesting that Alvin’s years have made everything simple. His performance gives the film enough sadness to make its kindness matter, even when the dialogue becomes too instructive.

The film asks for patience, particularly from anyone who expects a journey to provide a regular supply of incidents. We would make the time for it, with the caveat that some of its people are wiser than people tend to be in casual conversation. Watch it when there is no need to hurry on to something else.

*Fi1m score 88, published 14 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics respond warmly to The Straight Story, with praise centred on Richard Farnsworth’s understated performance and the dignity he gives Alvin Straight. The reviews repeatedly credit Lynch with making a simple journey emotionally absorbing through patient storytelling, kindness and attention to ordinary encounters. The landscapes, naturalistic dialogue and gentle humour also draw praise. For most critics, the film’s warmth comes without forcing its emotions.

The differences concern how securely Lynch controls that sweetness, and how far he departs from his usual approach. Sight and Sound admires the performances and cinematography but sees a risk of excessive sentimentality. The Los Angeles Times is more resistant, finding contrived folk wisdom and awkward clashes of tone, while still praising Farnsworth. Time Out, by contrast, finds the compositions, sound and wry humour recognisably Lynchian, suggesting that the apparent simplicity leaves plenty to notice.

## Straight answers

**Is The Straight Story worth watching?**

*The Straight Story* is worth watching for anyone prepared to travel at the pace of a lawnmower, and we scored it 88. Richard Farnsworth's unforced performance as Alvin carries the film, though some of the roadside wisdom sounds prepared in advance. Save it for an evening when nothing else is waiting.

**How long is The Straight Story, and what is it rated?**

*The Straight Story* runs 1h 52m and is rated G by the MPA in the US. It is a drama and adventure film.

**Where can I watch The Straight Story in the US?**

*The Straight Story* is streaming on Disney+ in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How does The Straight Story compare to Tokyo Story?**

*The Straight Story* and [*Tokyo Story*](https://film.one/film/tokyo-story) are both patient films about ordinary people and quiet regret, and both ask for time before they repay it. Ozu's is the more exacting film, making family neglect almost unbearable without a villain in sight, while Lynch's is warmer and more forgiving. Take Lynch for kindness on the road, Ozu for the harder and finer piece.

**What should I watch after The Straight Story?**

After *The Straight Story*, try [*Wild Strawberries*](https://film.one/film/wild-strawberries) (1957, Fi1m 88): A journey through old age and memory, with considerably less reassurance. Then [*Tokyo Story*](https://film.one/film/tokyo-story) (1953, Fi1m 92): Family disappointment observed patiently, with feeling that never needs announcing; and [*The Station Agent*](https://film.one/film/the-station-agent) (2003, Fi1m 82): Quiet company, awkward conversations and friendship allowed to develop without fuss.

### Reviews we read (11)

- **Radio Times**, David Parkinson (5/5): Lynch is in mellower mood with this whimsical road movie that dissects middle-American mores. Farnsworth gives a dignified, Oscar-nominated performance, supported by Spacek and eccentrics met en route; the stately pace is exploited to gaze fondly on life's pageant. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-tjk2tu/the-straight-story/)
- **Empire**, William Thomas (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a sweetly strange road movie that celebrates human decency without sentimentality. They particularly praise Richard Farnsworth's authentic, understated performance as Alvin Straight. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/straight-story-review/)
- **Time Out**, GA (85/100, inferred): The review calls it a humanist gem told in naturalistic fashion yet recognisably Lynchian through its compositions, sound and wry humour. Farnsworth's charm and the film's deceptive simplicity and warmth make it one of Lynch's most satisfying works. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-straight-story)
- **The Guardian** (75/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as a sweet and disarming no-frills tale based on a real-life journey. It highlights the charm and simplicity of the story along with a notable appearance by Harry Dean Stanton. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/1999/may/22/artsfeatures.davidlynch)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan: Turan finds the film uneven and mannered despite Lynch's attempt at heartwarming Americana, but praises Richard Farnsworth's dignified and authentic lead performance as the main reason it works. He criticizes contrived folk wisdom and clashing Lynchian oddities. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-15-ca-22403-story.html)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert: Ebert praises the film's focus on kindness and ordinary people along Alvin Straight's journey, calling it a moving true story brought to life by Richard Farnsworth's performance. He singles out the authentic dialogue and landscapes for their emotional depth. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-straight-story-1999)
- **Sight and Sound**, Kevin Jackson: The critic notes that the film stays true to its title with a straightforward, sweet-natured narrative and no Lynchian weirdness. He admires the cinematography, performances especially Sissy Spacek's, and the crane shot, while cautioning it risks becoming overly sentimental. [Read](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/280)
- **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin: Maslin calls the film a profoundly spiritual triumph by an unlikely director, crediting Lynch with turning a simple story into an emotionally gripping experience. She highlights Richard Farnsworth's natural, standout performance as the elderly protagonist. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/15/movies/film-review-on-the-road-to-epiphany.html)
- **The Times**, Kevin Maher (★★★★☆): The review calls it Lynch’s most traditional and straight movie, an elegiac portrait of a fading American heartland centered on a war veteran’s lawnmower journey. It praises Farnsworth’s glassy-eyed dignity and the tear-jerking depiction of reflection on life’s losses. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-straight-story-1999-classic-film-review-cd6f9ggqp)
- **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film gripping and highlights Lynch's skill in telling a simple story without boredom, praising the controlled sentiment and dignity. Richard Farnsworth's magnificent, naturalistic lead performance is singled out for particular acclaim. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-straight-story-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray)
- **HeyUGuys**, Jack Hawkins (4/5): The film is praised for its understated, naturalistic approach that avoids melodrama and clichés in telling the story of Alvin Straight's journey. Richard Farnsworth's authentic, lived-in performance as the stoic lead is singled out as a highlight. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-straight-story-4k-review/)

## Details

- **Director:** David Lynch
- **Director:** David Lynch
- **Writer:** John Roach, Mary Sweeney
- **Cinematography:** Freddie Francis
- **Editor:** Mary Sweeney
- **Music:** Angelo Badalamenti
- **Production design:** Jack Fisk
- **Costume design:** Patricia Norris
- **Producer:** Neal Edelstein, Mary Sweeney, Alain Sarde
- **Cast:** Richard Farnsworth as Alvin; Sissy Spacek as Rose; Jane Galloway Heitz as Dorothy; Joseph A. Carpenter as Bud; Donald Wiegert as Sig; Tracey Maloney as Nurse; Dan Flannery as Doctor Gibbons; Jennifer Edwards-Hughes as Brenda
- **Runtime:** 1h 52m
- **Certificate (MPA):** G
- **Release (the US):** 15 October 1999
- **Genres:** Drama, Adventure
- **Budget:** $10 million
- **Box office:** $6 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcMyFckt_Hs

## Where to watch in the US

- Disney+: streaming, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $4.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-14.*

Also available in: AU, BE, FR, GB, IE, IT, NL, NZ, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2000: Best Actor (nominated)
- Independent Spirit Awards 2000: Best Director (nominated); Best First Screenplay (nominated); Best Male Lead (won)
- Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture 2000: Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture (nominated)
- European Film Award for Best Non-European Film 1999: European Film Award for Best Non-European Film (won)
- Golden Globes 1999: Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (nominated); Best Original Score (nominated)
- National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography 1999: National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography (nominated)
- New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor 1999: New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (won)

## If you liked this

- *Harry and Tonto* (1974): Another older traveller, with humour and regret sharing the road.
- *Wild Strawberries* (1957), Fi1m 88: A journey through old age and memory, with considerably less reassurance. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wild-strawberries.md)
- *Tokyo Story* (1953), Fi1m 92: Family disappointment observed patiently, with feeling that never needs announcing. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/tokyo-story.md)
- *The Station Agent* (2003), Fi1m 82: Quiet company, awkward conversations and friendship allowed to develop without fuss. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-station-agent.md)
- *The Man Without a Past* (2002): Dry humour and ordinary kindness, with sentiment kept firmly under control.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-straight-story