The Straight Story (stylised as the Straight story) is a 1999 biographical road drama film directed by David Lynch. It was edited and produced by Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime filmmaking partner and collaborator, who also co-wrote the script with John E. Roach. It is based on the true story of Alvin Straight's 1994 journey across Iowa and Wisconsin on a lawn mower. In contrast to Lynch's usual work featuring surrealist imagery and adult themes, The Straight Story was produced and marketed as a family-friendly mainstream feature and was the only Lynch film to receive a G rating from the MPAA.
Alvin (Richard Farnsworth) is an elderly World War II veteran who lives with his daughter. When he hears that his estranged brother has suffered a stroke, Alvin makes up his mind to visit him and hopefully make amends before he dies. Because Alvin's legs and eyes are too impaired for him to hold a driver's license, he hitches a trailer to a thirty-year-old lawn tractor, which has a maximum speed of , and sets off on the 240-mile (390 km) journey from Laurens, Iowa, to Mount Zion, Wisconsin.
The Straight Story was released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States and select international territories. The film grossed $6.2 million in a limited theatrical release in the United States and sold 516,597 tickets nationwide during France's theatrical release. The film was a critical success; reviewers praised the intensity of the character performances, particularly the realistic dialogue which film critic Roger Ebert compared to the works of Ernest Hemingway.
Production
Development
In 1994, 73-year-old Alvin Straight rode a lawnmower across roughly 250 miles of the American Midwest to visit his ailing brother. Mary Sweeney, David Lynch's frequent collaborator, read about Straight's story in The New York Times that summer. Said Sweeney, "Growing up in Wisconsin, I easily connected with that kind of stoic, non-verbal, stubborn, idiosyncratic American character. I get how hard it is to have quiet pride and dignity when you're old and poor and are living in the middle of nowhere. I understand what these people's dreams and frustrations are. And I loved how much his journey captured the national imagination, so, wearing my producer's hat, I started trying to secure the rights." Alvin Straight's real-life residence was used as his home in the film and Straight's neighbors in the film were his actual neighbors. Lynch would later call the film "my most experimental movie".
During production, Farnsworth's cancer had spread to his bones, but he astonished his co-workers with his tenacity during production. The paralysis of his legs as shown in the film was real. Farnsworth died by suicide on October 6, 2000, at the age of 80.
After a successful debut at Cannes, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution acquired distribution rights to the film in the United States, Australia and Scandivanian territories, where it would be released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner, while Le Studio Canal+ and Les Films Alain Sarde would share international sales.
Music
The musical score for The Straight Story was composed by Angelo Badalamenti, continuing a 13-plus year collaboration with Lynch that began with Blue Velvet. A soundtrack album was released on October 12, 1999, by Windham Hill Records.
Soundtrack
All music composed and conducted by Angelo Badalamenti.
Home media
The Straight Story was released on DVD on November 7, 2000 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment (under the Walt Disney Home Video label). There are no chapter markers on the original North American DVD release, with a note written by Lynch inside the DVD case that reads, "It is my opinion that a film is not a book – it should not be broken up. It is a continuum and should be seen as such." On April 3, 2020, the film became available to stream on Disney+.
On September 17, 2021, The Straight Story received a limited edition Blu-ray release from Imprint Films.
On December 17, 2025, StudioCanal announced that a new 4K Ultra HD restoration of the film will be released on both 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray discs in the United Kingdom beginning February 9, 2026.
Reception
Critical reception
The Straight Story was critically acclaimed upon its release, with critics lauding Lynch's uncharacteristic subject matter. Entertainment Weekly described the film as a "celestial piece of Americana." The Chicago Tribune wrote of the film, "we see something American studio movies usually don't give us: the simple, unsentimentalized beauty of the rural American Midwestern landscape."
Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote, "the same bellwether quality that left Blue Velvet looking so prescient, and ushered in a whole cinematic wave of taboo-shattering, is at work once again. When a born unnaturalist like Lynch can bring such interest and emotion to one man's simple story, the realm of the ordinary starts looking like a new frontier." Of Farnsworth's performance, Maslin wrote, "he automatically frees the film from any sense of artifice and delivers an amazingly stalwart performance that will not soon be forgotten."
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 95% based on 106 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "With strong performances and director David Lynch at the helm, The Straight Story steers past sentimental byways on its ambling journey across the American heartland." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 86 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". For 21 years he held the record as the oldest person (at 79) to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. Farnsworth also won the 1999 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film.
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| Bodil Awards
| Best American Film
| David Lynch
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| British Independent Film Awards
| Best International Independent Film – English Language
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| Cahiers du Cinéma
| Annual Top 10 Lists
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| Golden Frog
| Freddie Francis
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| 1999 Cannes Film Festival
| Palme d'Or
| David Lynch
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| rowspan="3" | Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
| Best Picture
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| Best Actor
| Richard Farnsworth
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| Best Director
| rowspan="2" | David Lynch
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| European Film Awards
| Screen International Award
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| Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
| Jury Award for Best Actor
| rowspan="2" | Richard Farnsworth
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| rowspan="2" | Golden Globe Awards
| Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
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| Best Original Score – Motion Picture
| Angelo Badalamenti
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| Guldbagge Awards
| Best Foreign Film
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| Humanitas Prize
| Feature Film Category
| John Roach, Mary Sweeney
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| rowspan="4" |Independent Spirit Awards
| Best Male Lead
| Richard Farnsworth
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| Best Feature
| John Roach, Mary Sweeney
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| Best Director
| David Lynch
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| Best First Screenplay
| John Roach, Mary Sweeney
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| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
| Best Actor
| Richard Farnsworth
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| National Board of Review Awards 1999
| Top Ten Films
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| National Society of Film Critics Awards
| Best Cinematography
| Freddie Francis
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| rowspan="4" | New York Film Critics Circle Awards
| Best Actor
| Richard Farnsworth
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| Best Cinematographer
| Freddie Francis
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| Best Director
| David Lynch
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| Best Film
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| rowspan="2" | Online Film & Television Association
| Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
| rowspan="2" | John Roach, Mary Sweeney
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| Best First Screenplay
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| rowspan="4" | Online Film Critics Society Awards
| Top Ten Films of the Year
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| Best Actor
| Richard Farnsworth
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| Best Original Score
| Angelo Badalamenti
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| Best Cinematography
| Freddie Francis
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| rowspan="2" | Satellite Awards
| Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
| Richard Farnsworth
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| Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Drama
| Sissy Spacek
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| Village Voice Film Poll
| Best Film
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