The Station Agent

Directed By: Thomas McCarthy

Starring: Peter Dinklage & Patricia Clarkson

The Station Agent tells the story of Finbar McBride, a dwarf from New Jersey. Finbar manages to ignore the strangers that constantly stare and make fun of him due to his height as he walks about town. After his good friend passes away, Finbar learns that he has inherited some land with a train depot. Finbar decides to move into the train depot content on living a life of solitude. Things don’t go as planned for Finbar when he meets Joe, a Cuban hot dog vendor and Olivia, a woman who is struggling with the recent death of her young son and divorce from her husband. Joe and Olivia try to push themselves into Finbar’s life as Finbar does his best to keep them out of it.

The Station Agent really takes its time establishing its characters, their relationships, and the conflicts that exist between them. The whole first hour of the movie felt like a lot of build up and it occasionally had to ask me to stick around because it promised there would be a good pay off.

After we have finally been well acquainted with the characters, Finbar can’t escape from the drama, as each scene in the latter half of the movie is filled with tension, as things go from bad to worse for Finbar. The movie does a great job of playing off of this because by this time you have already invested time in the characters and want to see the outcome of their problems.

Two other things I really did like about The Station Agent were the score and cinematography. The score was enjoyable because it gave off sort of an “indie” film type vibe that moved the scenes along well. It made sitting in the DVD Menu fun. I thought the cinematography was good because I thought that Newfoundland, New Jersey (if that’s even where the film was shot) didn’t have the prettiest of scenery to look at, but the cinematography had enough cool shots to attract the eye.

Sad for the majority of the time, but ultimately ending with a happy conclusion, The Station Agent shows that it’s possibly for the strangest of people to come together, become friends, and form a family.

6 out of 10
Trailer for the Station Agent: