The Station Agent

When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism (Peter Dinklage) moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor (Bobby Cannavale) and a woman dealing with her own personal loss (Patricia Clarkson).

Although I wish Michelle Williams had a bigger role, this is the very idea of everything an independent film should be. Not only funny, but a film that expresses the best parts of humanity.

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said, "Tom McCarthy has a gift for funny and touching nuances ... The three actors could not be better. Huge feelings are packed into this small, fragile movie. It's something special." I completely agree.

"The Station Agent" is a slice-of-dwarf-life character study which takes a long, hard look at little person Fin (Dinklage), a train buff who inherits an old, inactive train depot where he takes up residence and then becomes involved with the locals. This poignancy packed flick spends its full 88 minute run with a sometimes cheeky, sometimes plaintive and always human development a handful characters who all have problems of their own. An extraordinary first outing for writer/director McCarthy, this little indie received raves from critical corners and applause from the public at large making it an almost sure thing for potential viewers. A wonderful film which makes the point that size does matter when it's size of character and not stature. (A-)

I heard the comments, I read the reviews, but actually seeing The Station Agent was even better than I had expected. I watched it in a library--and it was almost a full house for the showing tonight. At the end there was a burst of applause. I watch movies in libraries quite often, but I can't remember the last time I heard applause when the movie was over.

Another movie (Lost in Translation is in this group) which doesn't settle for the oh-too-obvious "fall in love" clichés, and presents supportive friendship as a worthwhile choice. I think that working towards friendship is a tremendous possibility (and never one that you have to regret in the morning)!

The Station Agent is one of those films where there doesn't seem to be much in the way, at least in conventional terms, of a story being told without dubious circumstance. Whoever Finbar- Fin (Peter Dinklage, in a mostly low-key, appropriately observant performance) meets in the small town of Newfoundland, NJ will either be at some degree of a friend to him, or someone who passes him by and scoffs at his apparent height of four foot five inches. The way writer/director Thomas McCarthey has characters interact with each other is also rewarding, since they come off as solid and believable to their situations (the life-affirming Joe, the sweet and lonely Olivia, the little fascinated girl Cleo, and the young, sexy Emily). And at the same time he doesn't lose sight of the center of the film, which is the obsession with trains. It's a wonderful motif to have with these characters- most especially for Fin- who don't seem to go anywhere much, and are content to watch them go by as they stay put in the town. By the end I felt like I saw a heart-warming comedy, despite the sad moments, as it went for a more human side to actions and dialog, instead of a 'slapstick-because-there's-a-dwarf' ideal to comedies. Fin is a person, and we're given him as a uniquely empathetic persona in Dinklage's performance. A-

The Station Agent is a movie about friendship and disability. I don't mean the obvious, but the the underlying fact that we all have a disability of some shape or fashion and that sometimes draws people together and can make for satisfying friendships when those disabilities are cast aside.

Peter Dinklage is outstanding as Finbar McBride, who inherited a train station and just wanted to hide. Unfortunately, or fortunately, Joe (Bobby Cannavale) is the irritatingly persistent sort that is looking for friendship and cracks the shell that Fin is trying to use to protect himself. They hook up with Olivia (Patricia Clarkson), who is hiding after the death of her son.

The three become friends and help each other through life's difficulties. Three outstanding performances that will have you assessing your relationships in a new light.