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List Price: $19.99 | | Label: Miramax
Salesrank: 6415
Released: June 15, 2004 |
| Our Price: $10.52 |
| Used Price: $6.86 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Winner of 2003 Sundance Film Festival awards (Best Drama, Audience Award; Best Screenplay, Tom McCarthy; Best Performance, Patricia Clarkson), THE STATION AGENT stars Emmy Award winner Patricia Clarkson (TV's SIX FEET UNDER, FAR FROM HEAVEN), Peter Dinklage (ELF), and Bobby Cannavale (TV's 24, THIRD WATCH) in a comedy about friendship that will have you smiling long after the final credits. Fin McBride (Dinklage), a loner with a passion for trains, inherits an abandoned train station in the middle of nowhere -- a place that suits him just fine because all he wants is to be alone. But that is not to be. Soon after moving in, he discovers his isolated depot is more like Grand Central Station. There's Olivia (Clarkson), a distracted and troubled artist, and Joe (Cannavale), a friendly Cuban with an insatiable hunger for conversation. With absolutely nothing in common, they find their isolated lives coming together in a friendship none of them could foresee.
Description of The Station Agent:
A strong ensemble and director Tom McCarthy's sweetly low-key observations make Sundance fave The Station Agent a treat. The film revolves around a reserved, somber dwarf (Peter Dinklage, immortalized by his brilliant ticked-off tirade in Living in Oblivion), a train enthusiast who inherits a small depot in rural New Jersey. He makes friends, somewhat reluctantly, with a group of eccentric locals: the guy at the coffee stand (buoyant Bobby Cannavale), an artist (Patricia Clarkson, impeccable as usual), a librarian (Michelle Williams). A few of the plot strands feel forced, but whenever the actors are simply playing off each other with McCarthy's nicely understated dialogue--which is most of the time--it ambles along winningly. You'll also learn more than you ever thought you'd want to know about trains. The key is Dinklage's smoldering performance, one of those reminders that a single scowl is worth pages of conversation. --Robert Horton
The Station Agent Reviews:
I adore this movie! 
2009-10-04 - I finally decided to watch this film after having watched the first 5-10 minutes of it repeatedly on cable. I never got a chance to finish the film, having always been called away or on the go somewhere. I just naturally assumed that this was going to be some dark & overly depressing art flick that I'd regret watching. I was completely wrong.
The film follows the character of Fin, a man with dwarfism who prefers to spend most of his time alone. He inherits a train depot in the middle of nowhere from his deceased boss, assuming that nobody will bother him & that he'll be able to enjoy his trains in peace. Once he gets there he discovers that a well-meaning snack truck operator parks his truck outside the train depot & is intent on befriending Fin. Fin also meets the clumsy artist Olivia, who is depressed over the loss of her son years before.
I just loved this movie. There's so much to look at in this film & there's so many different ways people could interpret actions made by it's characters. I just really can't say enough good things about this film. Both my mother & I were skeptical that we'd like it, but by the end of the film both of us were saying that we wanted to buy the DVD.
If you like action flicks or are looking for something with tons of romance, sex or intrigue, this isn't the film for you. This is very much a slice of life movie. There's no big message in the film, nor is there any touchy feely "the more you know". Finbar doesn't teach the town how to appreciate people with dwarfism, nor is there any point in the film where he has this big triumph over adversity. It's just a film about a group of people befriending each other.
I freaking love this movie. And now apparently, I freaking love Peter Dinklage.
A superb bit of film making.
2009-09-23 - The Station Agent is certainly a film that you think about for weeks after seeing it. It's very much a character study. The three protagonists form an unusual friendship and find that as they discover more about each other, they find out more about themselves. Peter Dinklage (Death at the Funeral) plays the taciturn title character who, once willed an abandoned train station, decides to live there as a hermit. His physical difference (he's a dwarf) sets him apart from his neighbors and has probably been an issue all of his life. Bobby Cannavale and Patricia Clarkson are two damaged people who try to befriend the "Station Agent". Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) has a small role as a librarian who is intrigued by him. It's a wonderful film.
what a delightful movie!
2009-08-31 - Peter Dinklage is a force in The Station Agent, playing a train geek/little person to such perfection that we come to completely know this character despite never having met anyone like him before. Bobby Cannavale is perfect as a dumb jock desperate for company, and Patricia Clarkson's awkward love interest is completely real. The acting is superb all around, and the cinematography keeps the quiet plot engaging.
My one complaint is that the climax is cliche and unoriginal. It's a sign of the director's talent that it's still completely watchable.
New look at Friends
2009-08-20 - This movie draws you into the life of a person with physical challenges. Loving relationships develop between the odd characters and you come away really caring for him and the new friends that he meets along the way.
Great film about friendship
2009-06-19 - I love this film. When I first saw it I thought it was going to head in one direction, and it took me into a completely different one. Bobby Canavale's Joe is so sweet and funny, without feeling staged. And Patricia Clarkson and Peter Dinkladge have always intrigued me with their work. I love watching actors eyes, and there was so much said, so much character exposition in their eyes that you could watch the film without sound. Tom McCarthy is becoming one of my favorite filmmakers (loved The Visitor as well).
