The Station Agent

french please

The Station Agent_360P

Good one. Could be better.

gentle.

source: The Station Agent

The Station Agent

I heard the comments, I read the reviews, but actually seeing The Station Agent was even better than I had expected. I watched it in a library--and it was almost a full house for the showing tonight. At the end there was a burst of applause. I watch movies in libraries quite often, but I can't remember the last time I heard applause when the movie was over. Another movie (Lost in Translation is in this group) which doesn't settle for the oh-too-obvious "fall in love" clichés, and presents supportive friendship as a worthwhile choice. I think that working towards friendship is a tremendous possibility (and never one that you have to regret in the morning)!

One of those small, quiet films about human behavior that utterly captivates through the strength of its writing and acting. It could have been too quaint for its own good, full of self-consciously eccentric characters, but it's not. Instead, it's warm and inviting, full of the kind of characters you wish you could just stay with after the movie's over. Peter Dinklage plays a grumpy misfit who moves out to a solitary town in order to be left alone. But the outgoing assortment of fellow misfits he meets won't let that happen. Dinklage is good, but Bobby Cannavale, as a goofball who won't ever shut up, and Patricia Clarkson, as a sad and lonely painter, are the stand outs. Grade: A

This is an amazing film -- it has humor, intelligence and emotion. With a minimum of dialog, it conveys a great deal of wisdom regarding the human condition. Peter Dinklage excels as a train enthusiast who thinks a move to the small train depot he inherits may afford him the peace and quiet he craves. As a result of his dwarfism, he has been on the receiving end of too much cruelty, sometimes thoughtless but all too often intentional, so all he wants is to be left alone. Once ensconced in the depot, however, he meets a few people (most notably an artist played by Patricia Clarkson) who bring to his life all the complications involved in relationships. And that's what this film is all about: we are all fallible individuals, but ultimately we need each other. High marks to Thomas McCarthy for directing and writing this treasure. The only thing I don't understand is why it was assigned an "R" rating.

When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism (Peter Dinklage) moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor (Bobby Cannavale) and a woman dealing with her own personal loss (Patricia Clarkson). Although I wish Michelle Williams had a bigger role, this is the very idea of everything an independent film should be. Not only funny, but a film that expresses the best parts of humanity. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said, "Tom McCarthy has a gift for funny and touching nuances ... The three actors could not be better. Huge feelings are packed into this small, fragile movie. It's something special." I completely agree.