The Straight Story (1999)

Following Lost Highway, Lynch is in mellower mood with this whimsical road movie that slyly dissects middle-American mores. Farnsworth gives a dignified Oscar-nominated performance as the lawnmower-travelling farmer, supported by Spacek and eccentrics met en route; the stately pace is exploited to gaze fondly on life's pageant, including a brilliant crane shot.

Ebert praises the film as a moving, sincere story of an elderly man's journey on a lawnmower to reconcile with his brother. He singles out the authentic performances, especially Richard Farnsworth's, and the evocative portrayal of Midwestern kindness and landscape for particular praise.

Maslin calls the film a profoundly spiritual and triumphant G-rated work that holds audiences in thrall despite its slow pace. She highlights Lynch's unexpected success with straightforward, emotionally resonant material and Richard Farnsworth's natural, artless performance.

Levy describes it as Lynch's simplest, most straightforward and mature film, a quiet and emotionally effective tale of reconciliation. He singles out Richard Farnsworth's charismatic, poignant lead performance as the film's shining element.

Lynch has cheered up after his recent dark films, delivering an exercise in strange sweetness that echoes John Ford at his most elegiac. The film follows an ailing old man's slow lawnmower journey across the Midwest to reconcile with his brother, highlighting the decency of ordinary people and carried by Richard Farnsworth's resigned, award-calibre performance.

Lynch's film is a sweet and disarming tale based on the real-life journey of Alvin Straight on a riding mower to reconcile with his brother. It is a simple film of charm and simplicity with a grizzled appearance by Harry Dean Stanton.

Despite expectations of Lynch's trademark weirdness, the film stays straightforward and wholesome as its title suggests. The critic praises Freddie Francis's cinematography, strong performances especially from Sissy Spacek, and the moving tact of the brothers' reunion while noting the risk of excessive sweetness.

Lynch abandoned surrealism for this traditional story of a sympathetic war veteran traveling on a lawnmower to visit his ailing brother. Farnsworth brings glassy-eyed dignity to the role in an elegiac portrait of a fading American heartland.

Lynch turns humanist and produces a gem with naturalistic linear storytelling, elegant compositions and camera movements, subtle sound and music, and wry humour on small-town life. Farnsworth's charm and the film's deceptive simplicity and warmth make it one of Lynch's most satisfying movies.

Lynch tells a simple story straight without it becoming dull, resulting in a gripping film. Farnsworth delivers a magnificent, naturalistic performance that redefines superlatives, supported by strong work from Spacek.

The film is an understated, elegiac road trip that avoids melodrama through natural performances and careful control of sentiment. Farnsworth's lead turn is highlighted as sublimely natural and powerful.