Overall Rating
  Awesome: 41.75%
Worth A Look: 55.34%
Average: 2.91%
Pretty Bad: 0%
Total Crap: 0%
9 reviews, 49 user ratings
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| Station Agent, The |
by Erik Childress
"Dwarfs & Trains. A Magical Combo."
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2003 has seen a wash of wonderfully unusual and freshly-tuned relationships in the cinema. From the May-December non-romance in Lost in Translation to Angela Bettis’ May and her inner doll, screenwriters this year are proving that its still possible to explore new angles; ones that hit different notes yet still all the right ones. How beautiful is it to relish in the comfort of friendship without complicating it through the conventions that amateurs read about in Syd Field rags. Thomas McCarthy’s The Station Agent finds a way to fit into this glorious trend, just as his main character, a dwarf, discovers that its OK to be an outsider as long as you have a few friends to get you by.Fin (Peter Dinklage) goes about his daily life ignoring the stares and disheartening taunts by those who think it’s funny to see a little person in the neighborhood. When his boss and friend at the model train store where he works dies, Fin inherits a little piece of land including an abandoned train depot on the outskirts of New Jersey.
What appears to be the perfect spot for isolation, leaving Fin to his love for all-things trains, even this neighborhood comes with its regulars. Setting up shop everyday just outside is snack truck driver, Joe (Bobby Cannavale), who is enthusiastic at the prospect of having a talk partner each day even if Fin isn’t so inclined. Also entering his life, and nearly ending it (twice), is erstwhile bohemian Olivia Harris (Patricia Clarkson) who lost her son and has been unable to fill the void in her life.
Fin would like nothing more than to never have to speak to anyone ever again and so would you if everytime you went for groceries, the clerk took your picture and smiled. Almost out of sheer unavoidance though, Fin allows Joe and Olivia to become a part of his everyday experiences. Simple ones, like walking, eating and more personally, trainwatching.
There’s a wonderful humor that envelops these characters with the way they see the world around them and an underlying sadness that life can’t help but bestow upon them. Fin and Olivia were probably outsiders to begin with, but have chosen to heighten their remoteness to avoid any further pain. Joe, who has a bedridden father that only speaks Spanish, probably made the transition into learning English so that he could adapt to the world around him making his desperate need for companionship all the more poignant.
Thomas McCarthy, an actor seen in Meet the Parents and TV’s Boston Public, makes an assured debut as writer/director here. His screenplay allows us those kind of educated thoughts without having to slam home a grouping of hackneyed rationales. It’s painfully obvious why Fin has no interest in going to bars and the ending speaks volumes even in its sneaky abruptness.
Performances are solid across the board with Dinklage giving us all the character we need in his face. Clarkson is quickly emerging as one of the most reliable actresses to lead the charge for each consecutive Supporting Actress Oscar. Cannavale is an absolute joy, even in his most overbearing moments since we know his intentions are nothing more than of the sweet variety. And Michelle Williams shines (in an underwritten role) as the local librarian who takes a natural, non-curious shine to Fin.The Station Agent was the one film I was shut out of this year at Sundance. After all the hype surrounding it, a slow bus prevented me from seeing what everyone was all smile about. (It went on to be the Audience Award Winner.) At the time, it just became another movie to shrug my shoulders about. Life moved on and I was determined to move with it. Little did I know what I had been missing sitting on the outside of that screening room waiting for the hours to go by before the next film. I’m sure Fin felt the same way on that porch at the end as I did catching up with the film in Chicago.
link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=6913&reviewer=198
originally posted: 10/17/03 15:00:57
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This film is available for download or online viewing at CinemaNow.com For more in the CinemaNow.com series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2003 Vancouver Film Festival. For more in the 2003 Vancouver Film Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2003 Sundance Film Festival. For more in the 2003 Sundance Film Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2003 Starz Denver Film Festival. For more in the 2003 Starz Denver Film Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2003 Chicago Film Festival. For more in the 2003 Chicago Film Festival series, click here.
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USA
03-Oct-2003 (R)
DVD: 15-Jun-2004
UK
N/A
Australia
05-Feb-2004
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