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The Station Agent

The Station Agent (2003)

tomatometer

95

Average Rating: 8/10
Reviews Counted: 152
Fresh: 144 | Rotten: 8

A sweet and quirky film about a dwarf, a refreshment stand operator, and a reclusive artist connecting with one another.

100

Average Rating: 8/10
Critic Reviews: 35
Fresh: 35 | Rotten: 0

A sweet and quirky film about a dwarf, a refreshment stand operator, and a reclusive artist connecting with one another.

audience

88

liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 32,054

My Rating

Movie Info

Actor and playwright Tom McCarthy makes his feature film debut as a writer/director with the quirky comedy drama The Station Agent. In New Jersey, Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage) is a four-foot-tall lonely man who chooses to live the life of a hermit in an abandoned train yard following the death of his friend. While he is there, he unexpectedly meets and befriends a couple of fellow loners. Troubled Olivia (Patricia Clarkson) is an artist devastated by the loss of her son and separation from

R,

Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

Tom McCarthy

Jun 15, 2004

$5.5M

Miramax Films - Official Site External Icon

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Cast

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All Critics (163) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (144) | Rotten (8) | DVD (17)

Mr. Dinklage projects both size and intelligence in the fascinating reticence of his face.

February 26, 2004 Full Review Source: New York Observer
New York Observer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

While many movies reintroduce us to the same old types, The Station Agent is an original -- you've never seen these people on screen before, and it's a pleasure to make their acquaintance.

December 31, 2003 Full Review Source: Seattle Times
Seattle Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The Station Agent never leaves its sleepy patch of New Jersey. But when it's over, you know you've been somewhere.

November 15, 2003 Full Review Source: Salon.com
Salon.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The powerfully understated charmer, The Station Agent, is nothing more - and nothing less -- than the quiet study of a gently unfurling friendship between three misfits.

November 9, 2003
New York Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

For 88 all-too-brief minutes, we get to hang out with very companionable people, eavesdrop on their small talk and come to know them intimately, perhaps more intimately than we can get to know our own family members.

November 7, 2003 Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee
Sacramento Bee
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's a gem to savor.

November 6, 2003
Arizona Republic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There isn't a character, location or situation in The Station Agent that could exist anywhere other than in a screenplay.

July 21, 2011 Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | Comments (3)
LarsenOnFilm

A quiet joy with breathtaking performances.

December 29, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

Peter Dinklage details Fin?s solitude in single glances, but his countenance also warms to eventual friendship. It?s an attenuated, reserved, realistic performance ? bolstered when we learn Fin is silent because shouting only summons repressed rage.

October 8, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com
Suite101.com

a charmingly simple character study

September 3, 2010 Full Review Source: Cinema Writer
Cinema Writer

...a sweet art film that is unapologetic as it is memorable. Peter Dinklage's performance is poetic and pure as any you will ever observe on screen or off.

June 14, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com
ColeSmithey.com

Charming fable about three misfits who overcome personal and social isolation and learn the meaning of friendship and community in the unlikely place of rural New Jersey

November 1, 2005 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

A pleasurably quaint tale.

May 4, 2005 Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness
Lessons of Darkness

...watching these friends interact is what the movie is about, not what they look like, not what they do, not what they talk about, but how they feel toward one another.

July 8, 2004 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

The movie has humor that's not derived from ridicule and an appeal based on the idea that relationships can be a comforting buffer in an often cruel world.

June 22, 2004 Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

It's The Station Agent's meditation on the smaller things in life that make it such a big deal.

May 14, 2004 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment (1)
Empire Magazine

The brilliance of Peter Dinklage's performance as the ironclad loner is that he doesn't much care

April 19, 2004 Full Review Source: Times [UK]
Times [UK]

As comforting, a bit hokey, and predictable as a CBS Sunday Night Movie, this intimate film should play well on television.

April 15, 2004 Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | Comments (3)
Film-Forward.com

Go see The Station Agent. It's one the year's best films and I sincerely hope that it is not overlooked.

April 7, 2004 Full Review Source: IGN Movies
IGN Movies

This is a gem of a movie that, like its protagonist, boasts a fiercely independent spirit full of discreet optimism and deadpan humour.

March 19, 2004 Full Review Source: BBC

It might almost be a subgenre: the Accidental Family film. It's enjoyable and a welcome break from the studio pictures, but it's familiar to you even as you're watching it.

March 9, 2004 Full Review Source: F5 (Wichita, KS)

...indie flavor-of-the-month Patricia Clarkson is so predictable in her quirky style that you can set your watch by her.

February 9, 2004 Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly

Illustrates much of what is good and some of what is bad about American independent cinema.

February 2, 2004 Full Review Source: Boston Herald
Boston Herald

A little gem.

February 2, 2004 Full Review Source: Movie Boeuf
Movie Boeuf

'[The Station Agent] is quietly effective, touching one moment, hilarious the next'

January 30, 2004 Full Review
Atlantic City Weekly

Audience Reviews for The Station Agent

A dwarf moves to an isolated town in New Jersey and befriends a coffee salesman and a divorcee.
Peter Dinklage is the highlight of this film. His performance is exceptional. However, the film begins with Dinklage's character resisting connections with Olivia and Joe, and Fin is so surly, so uncommunicative, and oftentimes aggressive that it defies believability that Joe and Olivia would continue to pursue Fin's friendship. In a way, Fin's defenses become the film's central conflict, but aside from societal rejection, what is the source of Fin's damage? It seems clear to anyone that Joe and Olivia are not prejudiced against dwarfs, so why the resistance?
Overall, though Dinklage gives a good performance, I found the film's central conflict contrived.
June 18, 2013
hunterjt13
Jim Hunter

Super Reviewer

Having just recently gotten into the HBO TV series "Game of Thrones" and finding the character and Golden Globe winning acting of Peter Dinklage very appealing, I decided to look back at one of his major leading roles in The Station Agent. I had seen this film years ago and liked it a lot but on a repeat viewing, I enjoyed it even more.
Fin (Peter Dinklage) is a young man born with dwarfism that has consistently struggled to fit into society. He has a passion for trains and works in a shop selling such items but when his only friend and co-worker dies, he finds that in his late friends will, he has been left an abandoned train depot in rural New Jersey. Looking for solitude, he packs up his things and moves there only to find unusual friendships developing with struggling artist Olivia (Patricia Clarkson), trying to overcome a personal tragedy of her own and Joe (Bobby Cannavale) an overly friendly Cuban hot-dog vendor, desperate for some form of interaction with people.
This plot summary might not sound like much but don't be fooled into thinking this is an uneventful or boring affair. It's far from it. Yes, not a lot is going on this film but that exactly the appeal. It's filled with such attention to detail and strong characterisation that this film is plentiful. I'm a sucker for these type of low-key, subtle and observant dramas and this debut from director Tom McCarthy is a perfect example of that particular sub-genre. It's a slow moving and thoughtful film that sensitively deals with feelings of loneliness and isolation. To embody the emptiness, McCarthy is aided with three superb lead performances which are poignant and heartfelt but more importantly, realistic. Not a lot going is on in their lives but that's the very thing that holds your attention. It's the bond and the relationship they develop with one another that gives this film it's heart. McCarthy handles the material delicately and seems entirely aware of the appeal that these characters have, as are the performers; Dinklage is an actor with many qualities and it's great to see him in a rare but well deserved leading role. Patricia Clarkson is always an actress I've admired and it baffles me why she isn't seen more often. The biggest surprise though, is Bobby Cannavale who provides the comic-relief to the suffering of the other two. That being said, this film isn't the slightest bit depressing despite the subject matter. In fact, it's a charming and absorbing human tale.
An original and affecting debut debut from director Tom McCarthy that displays a genuine warmth and respect for struggling individuals. His ability to be perceptive and humorous is rarely captured so well on screen.
August 26, 2012
MrMarakai

Super Reviewer

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