2003 Directed by Tom McCarthy
When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.
Yksinäinen asemapäällikkö, Le chef de gare, Az állomásfőnök, 下一站，幸福, The station agent
Thomas McCarthy's "The Station Agent" is one of those films that just clicks. There is no major drama or conflict, no noise or spectacle, and no flashy dialogue, but the film reaches in and succeeds with aplomb. This is a story of friendship and found-family in a film that rolls quietly but enchantingly from plot beat to plot beat, character to character. With its subtle poignance and whisper-quiet strength, the film simply works.
The great Peter Dinklage stars as Finbar McBride, a melancholy man with a love of trains and a physicality that makes him stand out in a crowd. When he moves to a small New Jersey town, he becomes acquainted with an array of characters who open up…
There are times when you take a punt on a film that you'd never even heard of. This appeared on a number of unsung gems lists and after having a quick read of the synopsis and a few very encouraging reviews, I picked it up on DVD very cheaply. It's one of those films that may not be big on spectacle, but instead relies on the performances of its lead actors to draw you in.
This is a movie with indie credentials writ large from the very start. The film revolves around a slightly shy, almost withdrawn, dwarf (Peter Dinklage) with a passion for trains who moves into a secluded old defunct railway station in rural New Jersey. Having little…
Thomas McCarthy wrote and directed what surely must be one of the all time debuts, about a motley crew of strangers that bond in an unusually tranquil way.
Loved it when it came out, loved it even more on rewatch.
Bobby Cannavale, Patricia Clarkson and most of all Peter Dinklage shine and bring that little extra to an otherwise very fine film, set in rural New Jersey. Of course, few things warm my heart more than a quiet story of rural Americana, but this is better than most.
Outroverted Bobby Cannavale more or less force the extroverted and grieving Clarkson and Dinklage to participate in his life-affirming ways. Results are so high on charm the sparks almost burst from the screen and into my living room.
As in every feel-good film, there are a few bumps filled with lows to overcome along the way, but otherwise it would come off saccharine. And no one wants that.
Review In A Nutshell:
It is in our nature to find solace in isolation, especially when the world strikes us with pain and cruelty, but when the two never stops or we cannot find a stronger way to cope, we find our life adapting to this approach. In Thomas McCarthy’s The Station Agent, we are treated with three characters that are familiar with isolation, uncontrollable forces has placed them in this position. All three come together when Finbar McBride, better known as Fin and was born with dwarfism, inherits a train depot from the sudden death of his only friend, stumbling upon the lives of Joe Oramas and Olivia Harris.
Joe owns a snack truck that is stationed outside Fin’s…
Are you closed? We want a drink!
Yeah were closed... But I'll play soccer with ya!
God damn I've been watching some great movies lately. With the exception of Freddy vs Jason I've been on a hot streak and maybe it was the amazing films I've watched this month that kinda had a subliminal influence on me, but I think The Station Agent deserves a place among the best I've seen lately.
For those who haven't had the luxury of seeing this film yet, it basically follows an antisocial man with dwarfism who loses his one and only friend; thus putting into motion events that put him in an abandoned train station living on his own in the back roads…
It's funny how people see me and treat me, since I'm really just a simple, boring person.
-Finbar McBride
I really liked director Thomas McCarthy's Win Win when I first saw it over two years ago. He was a director I had never heard of before and unfortunately I didn't bother following up with his previous works after enjoying his latest film. I should have because after watching his directorial debut here in The Station Agent I'm convinced that McCarthy had it all figured out from the very beginning of his career.
Even though the film arguably has a lot of indie film tropes or clichés I believe I still prefer it over Win Win because despite everything that is…
I'm fairly resistant to movies with setups like this one, just in general. These low-key indie movies about finding one's place in the world all tend to have the same repeating cast of characters with a repeating set of issues they're dealing with. So I really mean it when I say that I thought this was excellent.
Yes, this does follow a somewhat familiar setup. It's about lonely, broken characters, two of them specifically, who are trying to find a way to live with their internal pain. A third character, played by Bobby Cannavale, is lonely but he's immensely social and affable. He just happens to be stuck in the middle of nowhere, and so when the main character, a…
“The restlessness and the longing, like the longing that is in the whistle of a faraway train. Except that the longing isn't really in the whistle,it is in you.” ― Meindert DeJong
No other mode of transportation makes me happy as travelling in a train.Seeing the natural beauty from the windows,the chugging of the wheels;it's a special feeling.
It's refreshing to see 3 characters fleshed out so beautifully,each quirky in their own way.Brimming with themes of loneliness and acceptance it's a gem waiting to be unearthed!
film club secret cinema // round 15 // alternative movie
this was such an unexpected indie gem. there was no big dramas or fast-paced plot. it was just a simple, quiet kind of film that ended up being one of the nicest films i’ve seen recently. it was alive with personality, and about the feelings of isolation and loneliness turning into the joy of community and found-family. there were lots of sweet, touching and laugh-out-loud moments, but it was also kind of sad at times too. it starts out with the main character (fin, played by peter dinklage) moving to a new area after inheriting an abandoned train station, while living an almost survival instinct self-imposed isolation and not letting…
"When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog". So begins the plot summary over at IMDb. I didn't realise the sentence had cut off and thought that was possibly the best basis for a film EVER. But even without a verbose sausage roll (it's actually a hot dog vendor), this is comfortably one of the best movies of the decade just gone, boasting as it does a revelatory performance from Peter Dinklage. He's the deceptively boring dwarf who ups sticks upon inheriting a dilapidated train station and finds friendship with the relentlessly upbeat temporary manager of a mobile eaterie (Bobby…
The film is suddenly over and I'm bummed because I just want to keep hanging out with these people. Dinklage is a treasure. I'd watch trains with him or watch him watch trains. Either works.
