Richard Farnsworth gave quiet, weathered men dignity without making them grand. We rate his patient, economical acting highly, especially in The Straight Story, where he makes an old man’s slow journey matter.
Fi1m perspective
Richard Farnsworth can make a quiet man worth watching before he has much to say. A held posture or a look does work that a more demonstrative performance would give to dialogue. In David Lynch’s The Straight Story (1999), his Alvin travels by riding mower to reconcile with his brother, and Farnsworth makes that wish feel sufficient to sustain the film. He makes Alvin determined and frail, and allows us to see both at once. There is something to attend to even when the journey barely seems to advance.
His years in rodeo and stunt work help explain why the physical details seem so unforced. He began as a stuntman and extra in the late 1930s, moved into speaking roles in the 1970s and broke through with Comes a Horseman (1978). The Grey Fox (1982) gave him his first major lead as ageing train robber Bill Miner, a part well suited to his economical expression. He continued in supporting roles, playing baseball coach Red Blow alongside Wilford Brimley in The Natural (1984) and a local sheriff in Misery (1990). The latter makes use of the honesty and moral weight that Farnsworth could suggest without much fuss.
The Straight Story was his final lead, and Lynch’s willingness to take the mower journey seriously gives the performance room. We were moved by Alvin’s persistence on such an inadequate vehicle, because Farnsworth makes us feel the effort required without asking for pity. The mower remains slow and awkward; the actor never has to pretend otherwise to keep us interested. Lynch trusts the time spent with Alvin to justify itself, and Farnsworth gives him good reason.
There is a risk of making all this decency too comfortable. A few encounters in The Straight Story are sweeter and tidier than we would like, and Farnsworth’s unshowy work cannot remove that softness. Nor will his performance make the pace agreeable to everyone; the film asks us to stay with an old man travelling slowly, and means it. Start with The Straight Story, on an evening when you are willing to let him take his time.
Biography
Richard Farnsworth was an American actor and stuntman. He began working in films as a stunt rider and extra in the late 1930s and continued as a stuntman for more than three decades before taking on acting roles.
Farnsworth received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for Comes a Horseman (1978) and Best Actor for The Straight Story (1999), in which he played Alvin Straight. He is also known for his performances in The Grey Fox (1982) and as Buster in Misery (1990). He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1992.
Farnsworth died on 6 October 2000, aged 80.
