"The Station Agent"

The Station Agent (2003): 7/10

Poster (c) Miramax Films

There’s a reason why independent movies stay that way. The epitome of an independent movie is The Station Agent, a slow, small film with a small star, Peter Dinklage. It’s not easy to be a measly four feet, six inches in Hollywood (his only other major role has been in Elf), but he is a true star in The Station Agent, a movie that revolves around him. It’s his breakout role, so expect to see more of him soon.

Fin (Dinklage) works at a train souvenir shop, but when his coworker and friend (Paul Benjamin) dies, he is left a plot of land in rural New Jersey with an abandoned train station on it. While he just wants to be left alone and live his life in solitude, he is interrupted by a nosy hot-dog vendor (Bobby Cannavale), who parks right by his station, and a persistent woman (Patricia Clarkson) who has her own troubles. Slowly they start to bond, as all three of them look to see what they’re missing in their life.

As I said earlier, The Station Agent is a very slow film. Much of the film is just Fin walking along railroad tracks, but the way freshman director Tom McCarthy makes it, it’s never boring. There isn’t really a central plot, which keeps the loose feel to the movie, but it also is a liability. Because of the lack of plot, McCarthy has a freer sense of what to do, and because of this he can’t really stick on one thing. A couple subplots, such as Joe’s sick father, don’t really go anywhere, and about halfway through the movie, the movie takes an unwelcome turn from light drama with comedic undertones to a serious, heavy-handed melodrama. Although The Station Agent would have worked either way, the sudden change didn’t add anything to it.

The first part, however, was quite funny, and it’s pretty amazing how McCarthy can put a lot of humor about a depressed dwarf and still keep it tasteful. The ending, many have complained about, because it ends so abruptly, but so do many movies, and I didn’t find much wrong about the ending. McCarthy really makes us root for the three main characters: they aren’t caricatures, and we can relate to them. That’s what is the best part about the movie: the characters.

Dinklage has been rightly praised for his acting, but the real winner is, yet again, Clarkson. No matter what movie she’s in, she cannot act badly. She portrayed her shattered life well. I can’t really say more about The Station Agent, but if you see it, you’ll probably like it.

Rated R for language and some drug content.

Review Date: December 4, 2003