..Gary
Dretzka
..Noah
Forrest
..Leonard
Klady
..R.J.
Matson
..David
Poland
..Douglas
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
..Michael
Wilmington
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There's a simplicity and quiet authority to The Station Agent that cannot help but touch the soul and elevate it. The winner of multiple awards at Sundance (including the audience award for best picture), it's a tale that defies easy description but despite its unusual characters tells universal truths of dreams, friendship and will. It is life affirming without being glib, sonorous or soporific and that is a very rare achievement.
Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage) has the composed, earnest demeanor of someone who knows his path in life. He's a dwarf who works in a model train shop and is steeped in every facet of the business. It is his life until, unexpectedly, the shop owner dies. The liquidators move in and Finbar is informed that his boss has left him a small piece of land in New Jersey, the site of an abandoned train depot. Without blinking, he packs up and moves on to take charge of his legacy.
The end of the rainbow is an isolated, rundown building. For whatever reason it appears to suit Fin's needs. He studiously turns it into a livable home, takes long walks along the railroad tracks and enjoys the passing freight cars he knows all too well from books.
What's more problematic is the intrusion of the outside world. A lunch wagon parks adjacent to the property and the operator is a loquacious, good natured and simple guy named Joe (Bobby Cannavale). One of the regulars, Olivia (Patricia Clarkson), is an addle-minded artist who's a menace behind the wheel of her SUV and twice almost runs Fin down. Then there's the chubby black child (Raven Goodwin) he encounters among the abandoned train cars. She senses a kindred spirit but is too young to understand his reticence.
They are an awkward lot, particularly the adults. For Fin, the idea that anyone would want him as part of his circle is hard to fathom. But Joe and Olivia need human contact having shut out the world by circumstance or need. They both sense that the new arrival has the answers if they can just break through his stony reserve. For good and ill they slowly evolve into a family and even if it doesn't solve anyone's problems, it provides a support system to get through them.
Debuting writer/director Tom McCarthy, like his lead character, demonstrates a quiet resolve that gets the job done. He works hard and studiously to convey a tale that feels organic rather than manipulated. He knows his story, he knows his characters and he steps aside to allow both to take over the process. It is not flashy but precise and that allows for its frank approach to life, sexuality and tragedy to flow and not shock. It also has a candor that provides the natural comedy to leaven its largely serious intent.
McCarthy has put together a very strong cast and while everyone does outstanding work, The Station Agent would be uncoupled without Dinklage. It is a soulful performance and, apart from a moment of self pity, contained, charismatic and touching. Dinklage knows the character all too well and you believe every word he says, every hurt, every disappointment. He comes to understand that his love for something vital in the past cannot be sustained without an emotional anchor in the present.
A Miramax Films release of a SenArt Films production. Produced by Mary Jane Skalski, Robert May, Kathryn Tucker. Director/screenplay, Tom McCarthy. Camera, Oliver Bokelberg. Editor, Tom McCardle. Music, Stephen Trask. Production design, John Paino. Costumes, Jeanne Dupont.
Peter Dinklage (Finbar McBride), Patricia Clarkson (Olivia Harris), Bobby Cannavale (Joe Oramas), Raven Goodwin (Cleo), Michelle Williams (Emily), Paul Benjamin (Henry Styles).
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The |
Release
Date: October 3, 2003
Rated: R
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Starring: Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson,
Bobby Cannavale, Michelle Williams, Paul Benjamin
Produced by: Robert May, Mary Jane Skalski, Kathryn Tucker
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Distributor:
Miramax
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Review Date: October 3, 2003
