What I Watched -- The Station Agent

I first saw The Station Agent when I was on a plane to Africa.  I'm not sure what made me want to watch it again, but the urge struck, and I was in luck because they had it at my local library.  (I'm so old-fashioned!)

Not much happens in this movie.  It's a sweet film about a dwarf who loses his only friend in the world and then leaves the New York City suburbs for a small town in rural New Jersey.  He's desperately lonely and tries to keep it that way, but his plan for solitude is foiled by one man's relentless cheerfulness and one woman's deep depression.

This really is a character-driven movie; there's hardly any plot to speak of.  Peter Dinklage brings gravity and quality of acceptance and understanding to every scene as Fin McBride.  Bobby Cannavale (whom I know from a Sex and the City episode) is the ever-optimistic Joe, who sells coffee and hot dogs from his coffee truck every morning.  For reasons that are never explained, Joe parks his truck near Fin's off-the-beaten-path home/train depot, and Fin just can't seem to shake him.  And there's Patricia Clarkson as Olivia, who nearly kills Fin twice, then opens up to him in a way that many people seem to, even though Fin makes a point of not inquiring about their lives.  There are also bit parts played by Michelle Williams and - another Sex and the City alum - Lynn Cohen, who my fellow SATC lovers know as Magda.


Bottom line: great casting all around.  Don't expect a lot of action, but expect to enjoy the lack of it, because you will.