The Station Agent (2003)

Set partly in New York and mostly in New Jersey, the movie follows the life of Fin, who never has a day pass by without being ridiculed for his size. Working at Henry’s New York shop, Fin is introduced as a serious and lonesome character. Henry later dies and in accordance with the terms of his will, Fin inherits a land in Newfoundland, New Jersey and the liquidated assets of Henry’s.

On foot, Fin starts to trail the train’s railway off to Newfoundland. There he finds an old train depot that will soon be his dwelling. Just in front of this depot, a cart parks everyday selling hotdogs, other quick meals and drinks run by the happy-go-lucky Joe who first makes the naive attempt to befriend Fin. Uninterested, Fin ignores Joe’s efforts and even the messy Olivia’s (an artist) as she herself tries to make friends with Fin, which initially by the way is apologetic in nature as she inadvertently runs Fin off the road twice.

The movie centers on how a relationship between all three of them is formed driven primarily by the state of solitude that each one is at. Olivia is still mourning for the loss of his son and the fact that her husband left her because of that. Joe, appearing easy, finds a refreshing company with Fin, an escape from the mundane things he needs to do day after day. Fin, scorned all his life, chooses loneliness over companionship developing a wall around him shooing off anyone who comes near to protect himself from being hurt. With Joe’s naïve pushiness, Fin finally gives in and slowly comes out of his comfort zone making Joe come along in his regular walks and share his fascination with trains eventually forming a bond with Olivia and Joe though initially on the surface. This marks Fin agreeing to experience pain as he ventures to love and hopefully be loved in return.

Fin, about less than 4 feet tall, is always scoffed at for his size. But there are other people aside from Joe and Olivia who may initially react flipped out by just the mere sight of Fin but sincerely are not judgmental. Emily, (Michelle Williams) who works in a public library, sees beyond Fin’s physical appearance and either desires her boyfriend to have qualities that of Fin’s or desires to have an intimate relationship with Fin as she is shown eventually getting confused about her feelings toward Fin. And there’s Cleo, a little girl having the same height as Fin’s, who initially honestly look at Fin as just another child she can play with. She even invites Fin one day to her school.

Fin’s character represents a bunch of people out there creating walls of defense against any intruding strangers. Scenes shown initially justify how Fin develops this kind of behavior. Though eventually it turns out this behavior draws some people much nearer to him. Peter Dinklage takes on this role and does it exceedingly. With his nice well-modulated voice and an acting that communicates more than just the words coming out of his mouth resonating the pain from within, truly he’s just small but wonderful. Let’s not forget the rest of the cast who each contributed to making this movie memorable. Of course there's Tom McCarthy, the director who also wrote the script. I’m out words to describe how awed I am. Let’s just say, I have started rummaging around for his previous works and am on the lookout for his future projects.

This is one of the few movies that let you think even days after you watch it and will truly be remembered. It’s a movie you just happen to pick out of curiosity but turning out to be a type of movie you aspire moviemakers would devote more time on producing. It may be a small movie about a small guy but it has a big heart and it produces a big awe.

© 2006 Jonathan Susvilla