The Straight Story

(Buena Vista)

David Lynch's G-rated Disney movie seems to tell the story straight. It's about a real-life character named Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth), a 73-year-old Iowa farmer who travels 370 miles to visit his estranged ailing septuagenarian brother Lyle (Henry Dean Stanton) on a John Deere lawnmower. Lynch relates the tale with awe, innocence, and simplicity, yet there are undercurrents that belie Alvin's mien of crotchety wisdom and benignity.