The Straight Story
Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: October 15, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
86
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
32
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
Its simplicity belies an emotional complexity that will linger in your mind like a gentle dream. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
All the actors are good, but it's Farnsworth's brilliantly simple performance that brings The Straight Story so close to greatness. Read full review
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A great, haunting film; it affects us in ways we're not used to...it is capable of both lifting our hearts and chilling us to the bone. Read full review
100
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Farnsworth's embodiment of old American values, with their combination of delicacy, reserve, and stand-alone independence, is a one-of-a-kind treasure. Read full review
100
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The most atmospheric thing in the movie is Farnsworth's face. Read full review
100
USA TodayMike Clark
The best news the G rating has had since the ratings system was instituted in 1968. Read full review
100
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
A momentously, shockingly moving fit of shape-shifting by a filmmaker grown tired of the macabre. Read full review
100
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
A beautiful, appropriately loping little gem about growing older, daring to take risks and follow your heart. That probably sounds corny, and The Straight Story is. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The first time I saw The Straight Story, I focused on the foreground and liked it. The second time I focused on the background, too, and loved it. Read full review
100
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The Straight Story truly is one from the heart, and it is wonderful. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Lynch's first movie since ''Blue Velvet'' that truly envelops you in its spell. It's a piece of celestial Americana -- his journey to the light side of the moon. Read full review
90
Film.comElizabeth Weitzman
Clear-eyed and open-hearted, The Straight Story (which is based on reality) tells a simple tale, and it does so with a rare, blessed simplicity. Read full review
90
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Lynch takes us on a journey of shattering understatement -- a remarkable accomplishment.
90
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Switching gears radically, bravely defying conventional wisdom about what it takes to excite moviegoers, Lynch presents the flip side of "Blue Velvet" and turns it into a supremely improbable triumph. Read full review
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Cuts a path directly to the heart. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
If there is any justice in the world, Farnsworth will be remembered at Oscar time. Read full review
88
New York PostLou Lumenick
Lynch's first G-rated feature, turns out to be one of the year's best films...a wonderful surprise. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
I loved it...Without trying very hard, Farnsworth commands a unique and immensely appealing screen presence that could be called "a compilation of all the great western heroes of the movie past." Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
The wonderful Richard Farnsworth plays the lead, and he was clearly born for the part...a highly affecting and suggestive spiritual odyssey. Read full review
80
Film.comPeter Brunette
Richard Farnsworth shines as Alvin Straight, a role, one gets the feeling, that he has been preparing for all his life. Read full review
80
VarietyEmmanuel Levy
Lynch has directed his most satisfyingly disciplined movie. Read full review
80
SalonCharles Taylor
And now in The Straight Story, no director has been so buzzingly alert to the emotional lives of those people or to the beauty of the world they inhabit as David Lynch. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverAndy Klein
Indeed heartwarming, though not simplemindedly so. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Oddly enough, this uncharacteristic offering from a director whose name instantly evokes a very particular kind of film -- call it postmodern American gothic -- is also one of his best. Read full review
80
TimeRichard Corliss
Alvin's tragic memories give perspective to the triumph of his trek, even as Farnsworth's weathered brilliance makes this movie a G as in gem. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter Bradshaw
Watched again now, I can respond more strongly to the heartfelt directness and empathy. Read full review
79
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Lynch's faith in the kindness of human nature has been renewed, yet thankfully he's never maudlin. Instead, he wins over our emotions with the film's understated beauty. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
As slow-moving as the voyage it portrays,...a surprisingly complex view of contemporary life beneath its good-natured surface. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunAnn Hornaday
An engaging yarn and a moving character study, but it's also a sweet, sad glimpse of everyone's future. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
Inspirational...unfolds gently with an evenness and rural patience. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Sunny as The Straight Story appears, Lynch is still defamiliarizing the normal. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Too mannered and weird around the edges to be convincing. Read full review
50
TNT RoughCutGraham Verdon
A snail-paced story in all of its glorious ... slowness.
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