On the surface, it's a story about an old man named Alvin Straight who rides his lawnmower across the heartland so that he can visit his brother. Yep... sounds like a bomb. If only they could have cast DiCaprio in the lead role then maybe the marketing team would have had something to work with!

This movie is a celebration of those salt-of-the-earth Americans who make this country great. They live in the "flyover states" (which are little more than an annoyance to people in show business). These Americans don't have nor spend lots of money. They look out for each other. They take what life dishes out without making much of a fuss and their only therapists are loving friends and family members. But they won't pass their bitterness on to strangers. And, perhaps, their lives are just too boring for us glamour-hounds.

The beauty of this movie is how under-stated everything is. Any character can show up, say one sentence and Presto! You know him. It's a refreshing change from the over-written movies you've been seeing which require two miles of film to develop characters... using weapons, fancy costumes, cliche dialog and tons of product placement to suggest who these plastic people really are. In this movie, just one product (John Deere) tells you what you need to know. Ah... but does anyone have a gun? Does anything explode? I'll let you find out on your own.

The movie has slow-burn appeal. A long, important pause says a million words (whereas a less-talented filmmaker would fill that pause with a million, tiresome words). But the images and characters will linger for many hours after you walk away. Then again, if you want to be bored, you'll be quite bored with it. Much has been said of Richard Farnsworth's performance. He deserves all the congratulations he gets. Acting without using a lot of words is, perhaps, a lost art in America. Don't overlook the other supporting players. They rise to the challenge of sharing screen time with Farnsworth as well.

Much has also been said of the cinematography, which is perfect, but perhaps lacked enough variety to please the Academy (But, hey, it was 'Scope and that's a fundamentally correct choice which Spielberg can't even get right anymore).

This film is great, the pace, the characters and understated nature excellent.