adonis98-743-186503
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. The Station Agent benefits from excellent work from Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale and Michelle Williams. The film's script is simple and so it's it's story, the characters are very likable and funny too, the movie showcases great messages also about friendship, love and basically the meaning of not being alone in life and continuing moving forward despite the problems that we're facing. Definitely an indie film that doesn't disappoint and people will see that for sure. (A+)
thejcowboy22
Many years ago I had a friend. His name was Eneble Plaza. We met in the winter of 67'. We played tag and built models together and he taught me how to ice skate. We were friends for about a year when it dawned on me he was Black. Our relationship ended not by our differences in skin color. His Father a Nassau county Police Officer, relocated to his home country Jamaica. The relevance to that short story relates to this independent feature in Rural New Jersey The Station Agent. Our movie starts in a lawyers office; A Probate Lawyer reads the terms of a close friend and former boss's will of Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage)our centerpiece in this unconventional story as Finbar inherits a Station Depot in Northern, New Jersey. Finbar sets up his new domicile in this desolate area. Up pulls a hot dog truck which Reads 'Gorgeous Franks'. Out comes the overly inquiring Joe Oramas (Bobby Canavale). Joe runs a Hot dog stand on the property of the new owner Finbar. Joe's Father is at the moment hospitalized/ill and usually ran the business. Son Joe is handling things in the meantime. You can't help but to like Joe, chatty and curious about Finbar. Finbar for the most part is restrained, apprehensive, defensive in his approach. Enter third character the distraught Olivia (Patricia Clarkson)who lives in a home nearby filed with paintings. Her shattered past comes up in conversation divorce and death of a child. Three lost souls, but your captivated in their lives. Two other players cross paths with Finbar. Emily (Michele Williams) who befriends Finbar out of his unique appearance and The Young and unfiltered Cleo who stops by the depot and watches Finbar straighten train car cushions who also attends grammar school and wants Finbar to come to her class and talk about trains. Cleo thinks that Finbar is close to her in age. Oh did I mention Finbar is a Dwarf. This is the connection with my earlier story. Peter Dinklage's performance was so riveting with the abundant pregnant pauses you at times forget about his non- conformity. Loved the affability between Joe and Fin with an afternoon of Train chasing.But sadly there are scenes in the movie that give familiar reminders of Finbar's plight of being undersized. The Bar scene stands out in this story. Nice independent experience.
Maurizio
...to get back to the moment when I got the idea of watching this film, so I can slap myself out of it. I can't believe the scoring this movie is getting here. It's a total bore-fest of a story about three boring people living a boring life in a boring place where the hype of the day is spotting trains passing by. Wow, big deal. There is a good way of making a movie about trainspotting, as we all know, and it's not this one. The main character is totally unlikable. Rude, unfriendly, he hardly speaks to anybody, often leaving questions unanswered, or answered with a mere monosyllabic word. The other two characters add nothing to the enjoyability of the show. There is no story, no plot, just nothing but scattered, annoying chatting and a lot of trainspotting. The few moments of drama come far too late, when the emotional attachment to the characters is ultimately compromised, and anyway are not depicted with enough intensity. There's just nothing that works here. If you're out of sleeping pills, then watch this movie. Otherwise, avoid it like the plague.
joebondo
The Station Agent is NOT a film for everyone. If you're thing is Action, adventure, Sci-fi, you'll find none of these genres in The Station Agent. It's not a comedy, a romance or a horror film. This is a CHARACTER STUDY of a man, who happens to be a dwarf. There is some drama in the film which mainly comes from our main protagonists' (Fin) friend, Olivia. With that said, if you're not into films with all dialogue, this may not be for you.The story is about a man, who happens to be a dwarf, named Fin, who Inherits a station house left to him by his recently deceased friend. Fin is a loner and does not wish to engage in the company of anyone. He eventually starts taking walks with the coffee vendor, Joe, who slowly brings Fin out of his shell and is becoming more sociable. He also befriends an older woman named Olivia who is still going through rough times only 2 years removed from her sons' death (she turned her head for a second and he had an accident on monkey bars). Olivia is also separated from her husband and eventually finds out that he is not only with another woman, but he has gotten the woman pregnant. Fin also meets a librarian who appears to have a small crush on him, and a young school girl, named Cleo.Those are the main characters in the film as we follow Fin and his everyday life as he gradually becomes more sociable around these circle of characters. Throughout the movie, we also see the ignorance of people, young, middle aged & old, of how they treat Fin like a "freak show" with ignorant remarks as he is the subject of mocking & ridicule by passers-by. Fin eventually goes back to his reclusive way of life after being stood up by Joe, who was supposed to meet Fin at a bar with Joe's dad. But it's not long before Fin comes out of his shell once again. Shortly after he gets drunk and falls asleep on some railroad tracks, we don't see it, but a train actually goes by while he is on the tracks. Thankfully due to his dwarf stature, he is unharmed. He eventually goes to check on his friend Olivia, who also has withdrawn herself from public due to severe depression. Fin finds her in the nick of time as she appears to have overdosed. Fin gets Olivia help. Eventually Fin, Olivia & Joe resume their quirky, yet charming friendship. Not much of a story you might think, but it works (for me anyway). It's a feel good story about an everyday man in life, who happens to be a dwarf, but as we find out, he's no different than anyone else. When you are in the mood for a feel good story, with no expectations of action or romance, that's when you should watch The Station Agent.