Okay, here's the deal. I think I've told you about my granddaddy, Poppa Billy, before. He's the one that taught me how to appreciate a good hand-dipped milkshake and a great Western. Well, Poppa Billy was also the one who used to tell me, "Sometimes, boy, simple pleasures are better than the grandest gift, but more often than not, they're the gift themselves." I used to think that was such an odd philosophy. I mean, who wouldn't want the shiniest bicycle, or the fastest car, or the biggest house? Why go simple when you can go whole-hog?
Then, of course, I got a little older. Funny how much smarter adults become when you become an adult yourself, isn't it?
Nowadays, with all the glitz and glamour sprinkled everywhere, I've come to appreciate the quieter, simpler things more than I used to. I find myself walking through Carver Point now and again, noticing things that Carver Pointers don't have compared to the city folk, and marveling at the fact that we locals don't seem to care. We don't have scads of fancy restaurants that you need reservations to, or malls crammed with stores that all carry the same stuff, or five-story buildings, for that matter. We have three good restaurants, the Carver Point Diner being my personal favorite. The stores down at the Court Square carry pretty much everything we need, and, if not, there's always the Wal-Mart down towards the interstate. And who needs buildings you can't see behind anyway?
But we do have things you can't get in big cities. Things like unobstructed views of the sunset over the lake. Things like neighbors that wonder if you're feeling poorly 'cause you didn't get your paper out of the box that day. Things like screened front porches you can sit on with the dog and watch fireflies turn pine trees into Christmas trees. Simple things like that.
The same holds true with the movies. Instead of the napalm-throwing, nekkid-lady-flashing, blockbuster movies that fall out of Hollywood ad nauseam, I've been hungry for a simple, easy to watch movie strong on characters and dialogue.
Quite honestly, though, I never in my wildest dreams would've thought David Lynch would be the one to serve it to me. His new film, The Straight Story, is out in selected theatres now, and will probably be opening wider in the coming weeks. I hope so, 'cause this is a G-rated movie everyone should see, if only to see how to make a simple movie, and make it better than 2/3 of the releases that are out there.
Lynch's movie stars Richard Farnsworth as a man named Alvin Straight. Alvin has a problem. He has to get to Wisconsin to see his brother, Lyle, who has had a stroke. But the problem is, well, Alvin is old. He doesn't see well, his bones ache, he has breathing problems from years of Swisher Sweet cigars, and he has to have canes to help him walk. Without a driver's license due to his infirmities, taking a car the 300 miles is out of the question. His daughter Rose (Sissy Spacek of Carrie fame) can't drive either because she has some challenges of her own, although hers are more of a psychological nature. She's what they call "slow."
So, Alvin hitches up a homemade trailer to a 1966 John Deere riding mower, and sets off on his journey to see his brother, a man he hasn't spoken to in ten years. He doesn't want Lyle to pass away without repairing that broken bond. He packs up some food, some extra gasoline, some folding chairs, and his bedroll, and heads to Wisconsin from his home in Iowa, making his way at five miles an hour. He camps at night, sleeping in his little trailer, and drives during the day. And, of course, Alvin meets some people along the way.
That's it, folks. No plot twists, no car chases, no computer dinosaurs or alternate universes. Just a man on a lawn mower, heading to visit his kin. That's it. And, it's just what the Doc ordered.
Honestly, there's some question as to exactly what is so amazing about this movie. One thing is that David Lynch made it. THE David Lynch. The man that wrapped Laura Palmer in Saran Wrap and freaked out all of America with "Twin Peaks". The man that gave new meaning to the phrase "lend me your ear" in Blue Velvet. The man that invented new forms of frothy depravity in movies like Wild at Heart and Lost Highway. THAT David Lynch, the master of the twisted vision. But, maybe this shouldn't be a surprise, after all. The same David Lynch also made the movie version of The Elephant Man, and gave a picture of dignity to that tragic story. Here, Lynch is so sublime he's almost invisible. None of his trademark oddballs, no sudden shifts in vision or story, nothing. Excepting the occasional lingering camera shot, you might not ever guess Lynch was the director. Even Angelo Badalamenti's score seems different than all his other Lynch work. Usually, Angelo's music frosts the bloodstream with its eerie effects, and in Straight there's a glimpse of his haunting tones, but they're enveloped in a smiling overscore that just doesn't seem to be the same as normal. It's like nobody could think bad thoughts working on this movie.
All the more amazing, though, is The Straight Story's star, Richard Farnsworth. Farnsworth may or may not be known to a lot of moviegoers, although he's been making movies for going on 65 years (yes... 65 years...). Some may know him from his work as Buster the sheriff in Misery or one of the coaches in The Natural -- others from his stint in the series Anne of Green Gables that Disney brought from Canada to American viewers. If you're lucky enough to have seen him in a 1982 film called The Grey Fox, you saw what a fine actor he truly is. And credit Lynch for sticking to his guns and staying with Farnsworth as the star. The role could've been easily played by someone like Robert Duvall, and in a way, I think he would've been good in the role, but it wouldn't have been nearly as good.
Why? Because Richard Farnsworth is Alvin Straight. Forget the obvious things, like age, bad arthritis, and the like. Farnsworth has all that, just as Straight did. But this story called for something else. It called for kindness, simple kindness of character, and Farnsworth brings an almost magical kindness to this role. His weathered face and time-sharpened voice, his scruffy beard, and the sparkle still glowing in his pure blue eyes, it just makes the character seem more alive than the body is willing to let it. And that's what makes the character and the man one and the same. Straight was a determined man who wasn't going to let his infirmities keep him from his goal. Farnsworth knows those infirmities, and lives with them. And, still, he makes you wonder where he's been all this time. Every time I see him on a screen, I wonder why he never got to an "over-the-title" brand of fame as an actor. He deserves it.
There's a point in this movie, relatively early, that sums up Farnsworth in this film. As Straight, he's near the beginning of his trek, mounted on his trusty John Deere, riding by the side of the road. The camera moves in some, enough to see the detail of Farnsworth's face. He looks around at the countryside he's riding through, and, slowly, a small smile creeps onto his face. As it does, he shyly looks down at his boots, as if trying to hide the smile from those who might pass him. In that second's worth of film, you see Richard Farnsworth, in the guise of Alvin Straight, as he must be in life. A happy man, enjoying himself, but not wanting everyone to know how wonderful everything really is.
People, I know this is an overused phrase, but you have to see this movie. It is a simple pleasure, a Thanksgiving gift for those of us that know just what to be thankful for. It's uplifting, its message is clear, and unless the Academy has lost its collective heart, come February, Richard Farnsworth will be driving straight to a Best Actor nomination.
Image copyright Walt Disney Pictures.
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