Synopsis
A retired farmer and widower in his 70s, Alvin Straight learns one day that his distant brother Lyle has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. Then he hits on the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.
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Cast
- Richard FarnsworthAlvin Straight
- Sissy SpacekRose Straight
- Harry Dean StantonLyle Straight
- Everett McGillTom
- Kevin FarleyHarald Olsen
- John FarleyThorvald Olsen
- Jane Galloway HeitzDorothy
- Joseph A. CarpenterBud
- Donald WiegertSig
- Tracey MaloneyNurse
Recommendations
- 100
Austin Chronicle
Its simplicity belies an emotional complexity that will linger in your mind like a gentle dream. - 100
San Francisco Chronicle
All the actors are good, but it's Farnsworth's brilliantly simple performance that brings The Straight Story so close to greatness. - 100
Chicago Tribune
A great, haunting film; it affects us in ways we're not used to...it is capable of both lifting our hearts and chilling us to the bone. - 90
Film.com
Clear-eyed and open-hearted, The Straight Story (which is based on reality) tells a simple tale, and it does so with a rare, blessed simplicity. - 88
New York Daily News
If there is any justice in the world, Farnsworth will be remembered at Oscar time. - 83
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
I loved it...Without trying very hard, Farnsworth commands a unique and immensely appealing screen presence that could be called "a compilation of all the great western heroes of the movie past." - 80
Chicago Reader
The wonderful Richard Farnsworth plays the lead, and he was clearly born for the part...a highly affecting and suggestive spiritual odyssey. - 80
Film.com
Richard Farnsworth shines as Alvin Straight, a role, one gets the feeling, that he has been preparing for all his life.
