Hey, all, I watched this a week ago and probably could have posted it then but I am actually on vacation this weekend, so I wanted to be sure I had something for you guys to read so I scheduled it for now. Technology is neat.
Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) is 73-years-old. His hips are bad, his eyesight is failing, and he's in the early stages of emphysema, none of which really bothers him. When he learns his estranged brother, Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton), has had a stroke, Alvin is determined to go see him and mend their relationship. The problem is that he has no driver's license and neither does his developmentally disabled daughter, Rose (Sissy Spacek). But he does have a riding lawn mower and an imagination. Over the course of six weeks, Alvin travels over 300 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin, sleeping out under the stars and gently interacting with a slice of the Midwest.
Is Midwestern Gothic a thing? Because this feels like a Midwestern Gothic-Lite. There's a layer of weird just under the surface of what is otherwise a sweet, heartwarming little story. That's the Lynch influence. I will admit, I've never really been interested in Lynch's films. I wasn't impressed with Eraserhead and I couldn't get through Mulholland Drive. He seems like an interesting dude, but his work just doesn't grab me. This is probably the most accessible (maybe Dune, depending on the crowd) and I do like that he leaned into the humanity of Alvin's journey, but it's not something I would revisit.
It is currently streaming on Disney+ and is based on a true story.
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