Pick of the week
The Straight Story
In his lifetime, David Lynch directed very few films that could safely be shown on TV at Sunday teatime. In this regard, The Straight Story serves as a career outlier. However, despite lacking all his trademark dread and disquiet, it deserves to go down as one of his very best. Based on the true story of Alvin Straight, a man who, in 1994, took his 5mph lawnmower on a 240-mile road trip to visit his sick brother, it shimmers with awestruck wonder. Lead actor Richard Farnsworth was in the latter stages of terminal cancer during filming, and his stubborn determination to see the journey through is reflected throughout the whole movie. A perfect film with a perfect ending.
Sunday 2 February, 4.10pm, Film4
