The Station Agent (2003)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Thomas McCarthy

Writer (WGA):

Thomas McCarthy (written by)

Release Date:

5 December 2003 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Loneliness is much better when you have got someone to share it with (norway DVD release).

Plot:

When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.

Plot Keywords:

Train | Depot | Newfoundland New Jersey | Dwarf | Hot Dog Vendor

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 22 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Peter Dinklage	...	Finbar McBride
Paul Benjamin	...	Henry Styles
Jase Blankfort	...	Store Customer
Paula Garcés	...	Cashier (as Paula Garces)
Josh Pais	...	Carl
Richard Kind	...	Louis Tiboni
Bobby Cannavale	...	Joe Oramas
Patricia Clarkson	...	Olivia Harris
Lynn Cohen	...	Patty at the Good to Go
Raven Goodwin	...	Cleo
Marla Sucharetza	...	Janice
Michelle Williams	...	Emily
Jayce Bartok	...	Chris
Joe Lo Truglio	...	Danny (as Joe Lotruglio)
John Slattery	...	David

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some drug content.

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-3 | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:M | Australia:M | Germany:o.Al. | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Norway:7 | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

SenArt Films

Trivia:

Distribution rights acquired by Miramax for around $1.5 million.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Fin picks up the groceries for Olivia, he has his bag on his shoulder. The bag is not there when he delivers the groceries, but it returns after he has left Olivia's house.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Henry Styles: Morning, professor.
Finbar McBride: Good morning.

Movie Connections:

References "Fantasy Island" (1978)

Soundtrack:

Dream World

Well-acted, concise story, nicely put together

The Station Agent is one of those films where there doesn't seem to be much in the way, at least in conventional terms, of a story being told without dubious circumstance. Whoever Finbar- Fin (Peter Dinklage, in a mostly low-key, appropriately observant performance) meets in the small town of Newfoundland, NJ will either be at some degree of a friend to him, or someone who passes him by and scoffs at his apparent height of four foot five inches. The way writer/director Thomas McCarthey has characters interact with each other is also rewarding, since they come off as solid and believable to their situations (the life-affirming Joe, the sweet and lonely Olivia, the little fascinated girl Cleo, and the young, sexy Emily). And at the same time he doesn't lose sight of the center of the film, which is the obsession with trains. It's a wonderful motif to have with these characters- most especially for Fin- who don't seem to go anywhere much, and are content to watch them go by as they stay put in the town. By the end I felt like I saw a heart-warming comedy, despite the sad moments, as it went for a more human side to actions and dialog, instead of a 'slapstick-because-there's-a-dwarf' ideal to comedies. Fin is a person, and we're given him as a uniquely empathetic persona in Dinklage's performance. A-