The Station Agent

Tom McCarthy's big screen directing debut The Station Agent is a quiet tale of loneliness and friendship that proves films need not be drowned in sentimentality in order to make an emotional impact.

Peter Dinklage stars as a misanthropic trainspotting dwarf called Fin who inherits a disused railway station in the wilds of New Jersey. Expecting a life of quiet and solitude watching trains, Fin's arrival in the sleepy community has rather the opposite effect, and he is instantly seized upon by two characters who are in their ways just as lonely and in need of friendship as he is.

Fin, having almost completely withdrawn from society after too many years of being the butt of jokes, puts up his defences against Joe (Bobby Cannavale), the Cuban-American snack truck man who likes nothing more than chatting. And when Olivia, an artist struggling with the breakdown of her marriage and the death of her young son, runs him off the road not once but twice, Fin's solitude is quite ended. Slowly, Fin finds himself enmeshed in the lives of his neighbours, whether he wants to be or not.

The three, on the surface, have scarcely anything in common except their shared circumstances, but their as their friendship develops it becomes clear that they do need each other.

Peaceful country scenes and shots of railtrack characterise much of McCarthy's film, lending it a palpable sense of space and solitude which winds around the three central characters, and the story never feels contrived. Yet McCarthy still finds a near-perfect balance between serious and funny. The excellent score, featuring saw, gentle guitar and steel guitar perfectly mirrors the lonely moods of the characters.

Dinklage plays Fin as a difficult character to like, one who is defensive to a fault, yet we are always aware of why his alienation reached this point. When he's finally allowed to give vent to his frustrations it's a good thing, for the pent-up emotion at times threatens to engulf the film - but it's no less shocking when it happens.

Clarkson's Olivia is tragic and funny in equal measure, and her face often says more than words could, while Cannavale's over-talkative character Bobby is saved from being merely irritating by a sensitive performance and a genuinely decent heart.

The Station Agent is a film of little action, where nothing much happens. Rather, its charm lies in feelings unspoken, sentiments unexpressed - making it a film of subtlety and insight, thoughtful direction and of finely drawn characters. It is, in short, a little gem of a film - if Fin will pardon the puns.

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