Ordinarily, I wouldn t give a second thought to the dunderheads that think the world will end with the onset of the new millennium. The Straight Story . Mamet s forte seems to be cramming as many expletives into a film as humanly possible, while Lynch s films are a m lange of adult language, kinky sex, gratuitous violence and deranged characters. The Straight Story is a different story altogether.
Story begins with several shots of a small Midwestern town houses, people, businesses, landscapes.
But it doesn t happen. Despite his declining physical health, Straight refuses his doctor s advice, rebuffing the need for surgery, tests, x-rays and the use of a walker. When he gets news that his estranged brother Lyle has suffered a stroke, Straight decides at once that he needs to visit his sibling in Wisconsin. With no car, a mentally challenged daughter, failing eyesight and the inability to walk more than a few steps at a time, Straight begins the trip from Laurens, Iowa to Wisconsin the only way he can on his riding lawnmower. The trip takes many weeks and Straight encounters the typical road-movie hazards along the way, including breakdowns, hitchhikers, inclement weather and traffic accidents.