Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The Station Agent (2003)

There isn’t anything about this movie that I didn’t like. The barren situation that slowly blossoms into something substantial. Peter Dinklage is wonderful as Fin.  You know what he’s thinking and feeling, at least you think you do, but you still want to know more. There’s the pushy supporting character, Joe (Bobby Cannavale). I’m not really a fan of his, but he’s so fun in this role. He’s just perfect. There’s the intense, but vulnerable Olivia (Patricia Clarkson), who’s in so much turmoil, her pain was unbearable to me. I try to think of a role of hers that I haven’t liked, but I can’t. Cleo (Raven Goodwin), who would’ve been one of my friends if we had been in elementary school together and who I would probably try to befriend now. Michelle Williams and John Slattery also show up to this awesome party.

This is the story of a man, Fin, who loses his best and only friend and starts a new, even more, isolated life away from his teeny, tiny comfort zone. He comes into contact with Joe, a food truck attendant, who forces a friendship on the new guy. Joe is filled with such exuberance that Fin eventually has to give in. There’s Olivia, who is hiding out and has also isolated herself for various and valid reasons. They form this strange and sweet triumvirate. It’s not even that no one else will have them. They just fit and it’s glorious. It made my small heart grow three sizes.

The characters are solid. And I don’t mean that in a 70s kind of way. They all have presence and this sweet, endearing aggressiveness. The story is engaging. I didn’t want the movie to end. I could’ve watched those characters’ lives unfold over the course of several hours.

This whole movie was like watching the end of winter turn into spring and then a beautiful summer sunrise at the end. See this. Now.

2 comments:

  1. Yeah! This is possibly my favorite movie of all time; top three, at least. You should check out Tom McCarthy's other flicks, The Visitor and Win Win. It's the same tone, very grounded and humanistic. Oh, and if you still have the DVD of this, the commentary track is great.

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    1. Win Win looks good. The Visitor looks good, too, but might be a bit too much. I tend to get too emotional when it comes to immigration stories.

      Ack! It was on HBO. Now I want to get the DVD just for the commentary.

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