The Station Agent

From AwardAnnals

Reviews

Amazon.com

A strong ensemble and director Tom McCarthy’s sweetly low-key observations make Sundance fave The Station Agent a treat. The film revolves around a reserved, somber dwarf (Peter Dinklage, immortalized by his brilliant ticked-off tirade in Living in Oblivion), a train enthusiast who inherits a small depot in rural New Jersey. He makes friends, somewhat reluctantly, with a group of eccentric locals: the guy at the coffee stand (buoyant Bobby Cannavale), an artist (Patricia Clarkson, impeccable as usual), a librarian (Michelle Williams). A few of the plot strands feel forced, but whenever the actors are simply playing off each other with McCarthy’s nicely understated dialogue—which is most of the time—it ambles along winningly. You’ll also learn more than you ever thought you’d want to know about trains. The key is Dinklage’s smoldering performance, one of those reminders that a single scowl is worth pages of conversation. —Robert Horton

Barnes and Noble

Actor Tom McCarthy (perhaps best remembered for the David Kelley TV series Boston Public) makes an impressive directorial debut with this warm, perceptive drama. The Station Agent deals primarily with the difficulties that emotionally damaged people face in connecting with others; and while the story could easily have turned mawkish, McCarthy (who also wrote the script) admirably resists any such temptation. Attempting to recover from the death of his only real friend in a recently inherited, though long-abandoned, train station in rural New Jersey, the reclusive dwarf Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage) finds himself unable to avoid garrulous huckster Joe Oramas (Bobby Cannavale), who is temporarily manning his sick father’s food concession. One of the regular customers, Olivia Harris (Patricia Clarkson), who was abandoned by her husband after their child’s death, gradually becomes involved in their lives, as does Emily (Michelle Williams), a beautiful young woman who develops what seems to be a romantic interest in the station agent. The diminutive Dinklage has an oversize dramatic personality and has no difficulty holding the screen as the film’s nominal leading man. Clarkson has the most demanding role, which she pulls off with her customary subtlety. McCarthy’s movie doesn’t offer easy answers or pat resolutions; nobody’s problems are completely solved before the end credits roll. But the characters are carefully drawn and skillfully interpreted by an effective cast, and the story draws to a close much more optimistically than it begins. Ed Hulse