The Station Agent (2003)
Directed by Tom McCarthy
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.
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His star had been stuck in supporting roles, most memorably in "Living in Oblivion," where he gives an impassioned speech about the unfairness of dwarfs always being cast in dream sequences.
Living in Oblivion, in which Peter Dinklage rails against the director for using dwarfs in dream sequences.
Written and directed by Tom McCarthy, "The Station Agent" (which was screened at the Journal News Film Club in September) stars Peter Dinklage, an actor of small stature whom you may have seen in films as diverse as "Living in Oblivion" and "Human Nature."
There's a scene in Tom DiCillo's riotous comedy Living in Oblivion (1995) in which the hapless, low-budget art-movie director (Steve Buscemi) attempts to shoot a nightmare sequence with the heroine (Catherine Keener) and an ominous dwarf (Peter Dinklage).
No Mini-Me jokes please—Dinklage is hardly an angry dwarf in the Howard Stern sense, but anyone who’s seen Tom DiCillo’s inside-indie Living in Oblivion will remember the actor as Tito, who delivers a hysterical dressing-down to hapless director Steve Buscemi about how not even dwarves dream about dwarves.
Backed by a quirky score by Stephen Trask (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) which even utilizes that most underused of instruments, the saw) the film manages to be constantly appealing both aurally and visually.
Original music by Stephen Trask ("Hedwig and the Angry Inch") is train inspired country funk and twang.
One of the great things about Bill Forsyth movies like "Local Hero" and "Comfort and Joy" was that they freed up your responses.
One of the great things about Bill Forsyth movies like "Local Hero" and "Comfort and Joy" was that they freed up your responses.
Then, like Eastwood in The Outlaw Josey Wales, Fin begins to attract a band of outcasts.
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The exquisite actress has had a steady career with memorable performances in recent indies such as Far From Heaven and a win for outstanding performance at this year's Sundance Film Festival, but its The Station Agent that could very well land her a spot on the Academy Award's list come next February.
“The Station Agent” is a charming fable centering on three misfits and oddballs: a lonely dwarf (marvelously played by Peter Dinklage), an angry divorcee who tries her hand at painting (Patricia Clarkson, who currently can be seen in Todd Haynes' “Far From Heaven”), and a Latino hotdog vendor.
Patricia Clarkson ("Far from Heaven") is Olivia, an artist grieving the loss of her son.
Also intertwining into Fin’s life is Olivia (Patricia Clarkson, “Far From Heaven”), a grieving mother who is in the middle of a separation and takes a shine to Fin and Joe in her time of need.
She was terrific in "Far From Heaven," last year, and has a one-two combination "Pieces of April" and, now, "The Station Agent."
As Fin walks the tracks, he finds another kindred spirit: Cleo (Raven Goodwin, of Lovely & Amazing [2002]), an overweight little African-American girl who scuttles silently behind him.
A librarian (Michelle Williams) warms to the new book lover at once; a little girl (''Lovely & Amazing'''s Raven Goodwin), as matter-of-factly unparented as she is black in a very white neck of the woods, adopts his train passions as her own.
While his small cameo was the only thing worth watching in Eric Schaeffer’s 2002 stinker “Never Again,” Dinklage is front and center in “Agent,” and a perfect choice for the role.
No, this is a film that has more going for it than you might possibly imagine, from the superb supporting players Bobby Cannavale ("The Bone Collector") and Patricia Clarkson ("Pieces of April"), to the wit and poignancy of the writing (also by actor-turned-director McCarthy; he was Dr. Bob Banks in "Meet the Parents"), to the delicately observed direction--its pace, depth, and overall humanity work wonders.
Bring to that the subculture of train enthusiasts who can't get enough of the American Railroad and the self-isolation of a dwarf and you get a taste of what inspired actor ("Meet the Parents")/first time writer-director McCarthy to create it.
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The station appears to be in the middle of nowhere, except that Fin much to his consternation has a "neighbor," Joe Oramas (Bobby Cannavale, The Bone Collector).
No, this is a film that has more going for it than you might possibly imagine, from the superb supporting players Bobby Cannavale ("The Bone Collector") and Patricia Clarkson ("Pieces of April"), to the wit and poignancy of the writing (also by actor-turned-director McCarthy; he was Dr. Bob Banks in "Meet the Parents"), to the delicately observed direction--its pace, depth, and overall humanity work wonders.