“The Station Agent” (Miramax)
“The Station Agent” is a movie full of complexities and simplicities. It is not about anything and it is about everything. What you get out of it will depend to a great extent on what you put into it. With Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson and Bobby Cannavale acting their hearts out, you have a movie with the potential for greatness.
Fin (Dinklage) is a dwarf. He is used to the stares of people and their curiosity about him. It has caused him to close himself up in a world of his own. He functions in society but he is not an active part of it. One day he inherits a train station house in Newfoundland, New Jersey. With nothing better to do, he moves there.
Joe (Cannavale) operates a snack truck that sets up on the property next to the station house. He is a gregarious sort and immediately decides he wants to be friends with Fin. Fin resists Joe’s overtures of friendship but finally Joe wears him down.
Olivia (Clarkson) is one of Joe’s customers. She is trying to get through a tragedy in her life, but is engulfed by Joe also. Soon they form a trio of friends. They have nothing in common except despair of one sort or another but that is enough to bind them together.
Dinklage is amazing as Fin. He gives him a full personality, as well as a wariness of society. Fin is never pitiful, but he is pitiable because of the slights he has received in the past. This is a once in a lifetime role for Dinklage and he makes the most of it.
Clarkson is equally good as the fragile Olivia. She projects such warmth as an actress that you like her character immediately, and this respect and affection grows throughout the length of the movie.
With all this talent around him, it is still Bobby Cannavale who carries the movie. Joe is the person who acts as a catalyst to all things and the soul of the story. He is a warm, engaging puppy like man who demands friendship and won’t let it slip away.
The film is rated R for profanity.
This is a movie that weaves a spell. It is not fast-paced and action packed but rather is slow moving and inviting. You want to know more about these characters and you want to understand what makes them tick. The movie gives you a chance to do both.
“The Station Agent” is not a movie for everyone. It is meant only for those who enjoy meeting unique characters and learning their secrets. In this way it unlocks secrets about the viewers as well.
I scored “The Station Agent" a railroaded 8 out of 10.
