The Straight Story is a 1999
biographical road drama film directed by
David Lynch. The film was edited and produced by
Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime partner and co-worker. She co-wrote the script with
John E. Roach. The film is based on the true story of
Alvin Straight's 1994 journey across
Iowa and
Wisconsin on a
lawn mower. Alvin (
Richard Farnsworth) is an elderly World War II veteran who lives with his daughter Rose (
Sissy Spacek), a kind woman with a mental disability. When he hears that his estranged brother Lyle (
Harry Dean Stanton) has suffered a stroke, Alvin makes up his mind to go visit him and hopefully make amends before he dies. Because Alvin's legs and eyes are too impaired for him to receive a driving license, he hitches a trailer to his recently purchased thirty-year-old
John Deere 110 Lawn Tractor, having a maximum speed of about <abbr title="8.0 km/h">5 miles per hour</abbr>, and sets off on the <abbr title="390 km">240 mile</abbr> journey from
Laurens, Iowa to
Mount Zion, Wisconsin.