The old Spy magazine used to do something called "celebrity math." It would be things like:
Steven Spielberg - Victor Fleming = Michael Bay
Anyway, I've always loved David Lynch's movies, and him, himself. Not just because he's a TM practitioner and evangelist.
So, my version of Celebrity Math is:
David Lynch = (John Waters - Divine) * (Fellini/2)
OK. Enough celebrity math.
David Lynch passed away on Thursday (Jan 16), and we've lost a good, nigh, great director. An under-rated gem of his was "The Straight Story."
The plot of the movie centers on two estranged brothers. The lead is Alvin Straight, played by Richard Farnsworth, and his brother Lyle is played by the amazing Dennis Hopper. Alvin is in rough shape, with two bad hips, emphysema (which, ironically, Lynch suffered from), diabetes, and good old stubbornness. That last "virtue" is what drives (pun intended) the plot.
Alvin learns that Lyle has just had a stroke, and his mortality is triggered. However, Lyle is in rural Wisconsin, and Alvin is in Iowa. So how can the two brothers meet and reconcile? Well, this goal is further complicated by Lyle not having a driver's license. Thus, he decides to make the trip driving his aged riding lawnmower, towing a trailer that will carry his gear and double as his sleeping quarters.
There's a mis-start, there are lovely encounters with people and American landscapes, and he's driven by determination and hope. Hope that he can finish the trip before either he, Lyle, or the lawnmower gives out for good.
Jessica Schneider says, and I agree:
"This is the perfect road movie for one's reflection and rumination. Old and wounded, these brothers have come to realize that time does not just merely move on but moves together."
Here with subtlety, emotion and nuance is the end of this lovely movie:
Anyway, the movie is available on Disney+, and it's amazing.
Please do yourself a favor and watch it.
The soundtrack, by longtime Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti, is also exceptional.