Lynch directs the quiet saga of septuagenarian Alvin Straight piloting his riding lawnmower from Iowa to Wisconsin the way only Lynch knew how—equal parts tenderness, agony and entrancing patience.

| Apr 25, 2025

Sometimes a director’s best film and maybe even their most characteristic, if you really think about it, is the one you might least expect, as can be the surprising nature of auteurism.

| Apr 25, 2025

If you're a sucker for sentimental Americana, this is of significantly higher quality than the genre usually manages.

| Jan 23, 2025

When the movie’s end arrives, it’s a scene of cosmic beauty, accompanied by Angelo Badalamenti’s ethereal score—pure cinematic liftoff, a triumph of writing, direction, acting, casting, all the things that make a movie take flight.

| Jan 21, 2025

Felt like soaking in an elegy for past time, and coming to terms with the consequences for a lifetime of actions. .... An ineffably gorgeous film, which becomes more affecting with every viewing. ... A celebration of what was and what will be.

| Aug 10, 2024

A sweet, simple story that feels unorthodox for Lynch, but eventually reveals it contains a number of his signature themes and visuals. Farnsworth's Oscar nomination was well-deserved; he anchors the film with humanity and boundless empathy.

| Jun 27, 2024

This is probably the best Disney movie I've ever seen, and I can't imagine how anyone (and I mean anyone) could not find something appealing about this wholly wonderful narrative.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 28, 2023

As Alvin, [Richard Farnsworth] grounds the film in no-nonsense authenticity, meaning it never feels overly sentimental (in spite of the Disney affiliation).

| Original Score: 8/10 | Sep 8, 2023

... An elegiac portrait of a fading American heartland wrapped around a tear-jerking depiction of a man reflecting on his life losses with regret and resignation.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 24, 2023

The movie is exquisitely simple, near-plotless, as Alvin makes his slow journey from Iowa to Wisconsin. As always, Lynch draws the scenes out, letting them breathe, giving us time to drink in the images.

| Original Score: A | Sep 2, 2022

The Straight Story is a small motion-picture miracle. How could a film whose high points include a man tasting his first beer in three decades be anything else?

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 1, 2021

This is the act of forgiveness given the proper cinematic and moral weight it deserves, following one man across the country on a lawnmower as he tries to make amends. You will cry your face off.

| Sep 10, 2021

Lovely little film with a sweet and subtle lead performance you won't soon forget

| Original Score: 9/10 | May 7, 2020

It's intriguing to watch the Lynch of Blue Velvet and Lost Highway feel his way toward a less wounding surrealism -- into images that have power to hurt and will do none.

| Apr 14, 2020

It's unlike anything else in Lynch's filmography, and it's genuinely brilliant.

| Apr 7, 2020

It seems only fitting that Lynch's most unambiguous, sentimental film should concern a man named Straight and the title is entirely apposite.

| Mar 18, 2020

It's hard to imagine a gentler film, yet Lynch fully exploits the stately pace to gaze fondly upon life's rich pageant.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Mar 18, 2020

Instead, like Alvin, [Lynch's] film sets out on its mission in its own unassuming way and; inviting as those campfire flames around which so many stories have been told.

| Mar 18, 2020

David Lynch's movie - the finest he has made since "Blue Velvet" - is serenely bereft of postmodern cynicism.

| Mar 18, 2020

With his sweet, lyrical masterpiece... David Lynch frees himself from the heavy irony and noir affectations of his last few films, discovering the pure, mythical slice of Americana previously confined to Agent Cooper's coffee and donuts in Twin Peaks.

| Mar 18, 2020