Lucky

A film set in a small desert town. Lucky is ninety and lives alone. His days are fixed: exercises in the morning, coffee, a walk through town, a crossword, the bar in the evening. He smokes and his doctor says nothing about it. One morning he falls at home. Nothing serious is found; the doctor tells him he is old. The news starts him thinking, and while his habits stay the same his mind is elsewhere. The film builds no plot. Lucky talks to the people at the bar, argues with a neighbour who is looking for his missing tortoise, goes to a birthday party. The subject is the fear of death and unbelief. Lucky accepts no consolation and says so plainly. The part was written directly for its lead and the character draws heavily on his own life. It was Harry Dean Stanton's last leading role. David Lynch, Ron Livingston, Ed Begley Jr. and Tom Skerritt are in the cast. John Carroll Lynch directed; known as an actor, this was his first film as director. A warm production for anyone who likes calm, character-driven films. For a viewer expecting incident, it describes almost nothing and consists entirely of one man's days.