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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And then there is that mysterious 'small person' (Peter Dinklage, "The Station Agent," "Find Me Guilty") who keeps trying to get Daniel's attention.
Peter Dinklage once again cashes in on The Station Agent with a performance hammier than the one he gives in Underdog .
However, things start to rattle and hum nicely when Peter Dinklage ("The Station Agent"), a small man with a big secret, appears.
Out of all of them, it's one of the cast's few Yanks -- Peter Dinklage ("The Station Agent," "Underdog"), as the extortionist -- who really fans the flames, threatening to reveal a secret of the dearly departed's in front of the entire funeral party if the dead man's sons don't pay to keep it buried.
Tom McCarthy, the director of Spotlight, has a good track record in subtle drama (The Station Agent, The Visitor) and he works lovingly here with his actors.
His bosses Fred Franks (Tom McCarthy, "The Station Agent") and Marilyn Richards (Viola Davis, 2002's "Solaris") are not interested in the rogue weapon as much as they are in having Bob take out Prince Nasir, a man they see as an evil anti-American.
As he demonstrated in films like “The Station Agent” and “The Visitor,” McCarthy has always had a nicely understated touch with actors, and his ensemble here is a model of low-key excellence.
The team is an intriguing, eclectic bunch, and McCarthy -- who is best known for such character-driven dramas as "The Station Agent" and "Win Win" -- excels at making them distinctive, imperfect and human.
The result is a career highlight for the director of such Sundance favorites as “Win Win,” “The Station Agent” and “The Visitor.”
An actor himself — he played a reporter in Simon’s HBO series “The Wire” — McCarthy has evinced a knack for casting in previous films he’s directed, including “ The Station Agent ,” “ The Visitor ” and “ Win Win .”
McCarthy – who hails from New Providence – has mostly worked on smaller canvases: The very good "The Station Agent," the decent "Win Win," the disastrous "The Cobbler."
As in The Station Agent, The Visitor, and Win Win, McCarthy (who co-wrote the script with Josh Singer) creates a great space for actors to cut loose, and this one is one of the most sensational ensembles — top to bottom — in years.
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Yes, she's got dramatic chops -- as she's proven time and again in films such as "Shutter Island, " " Cairo Time " and "The Station Agent" -- but Miss Jackie's kid has a gift for comedy, too.
Max Von Sydow ( Minority Report ) and Patricia Clarkson ( The Station Agent ) also stand out in their brief time on camera as a confrontational German psychiatrist and an apparently rational woman hiding from everyone on Shelter Island , respectively.
In addition to Tucci ( The Lovely Bones ) and Clarkson ( The Station Agent ), Stone receives splendid support from other cast members including: Thomas Haden Church ( Smart People ) as a concerned teacher; Lisa Kudrow ( Hotel for Dogs ) as the worst guidance counselor ever, and Penn Badgley ( The Stepfather ) as a fellow student who has eyes only for Olive.
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.