The Station Agent (2003)

When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.

Director:

Thomas McCarthy

Writer:

Thomas McCarthy

Stars:

Peter Dinklage, Paul Benjamin, Bobby Cannavale

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 25 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Dinklage	...	Finbar McBride
Paul Benjamin	...	Henry Styles
Jase Blankfort	...	Store Customer
Paula Garcés	...	Cashier (as Paula Garces)
Josh Pais	...	Carl
Richard Kind	...	Louis Tiboni
Bobby Cannavale	...	Joe Oramas
Patricia Clarkson	...	Olivia Harris
Lynn Cohen	...	Patty at the Good to Go
Raven Goodwin	...	Cleo
Marla Sucharetza	...	Janice
Michelle Williams	...	Emily
Jayce Bartok	...	Chris
Joe Lo Truglio	...	Danny (as Joe Lotruglio)
John Slattery	...	David

Storyline

When his only friend and co-worker dies, a young man born with dwarfism moves to an abandoned train depot in rural New Jersey. Though he tried to maintain a life of solitude, he is soon entangled with an artist who is struggling with a personal tragedy and an overly friendly Cuban hot-dog vendor.

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Plot Keywords:

train | depot | dwarf | newfoundland new jersey | librarian | 

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Taglines:

Loneliness is much better when you have got someone to share it with (norway DVD release).

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

5 December 2003 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Station Agent

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£97,044 (UK) (26 March 2004)

Gross:

£266,392 (UK) (2 April 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

SenArt Films, Next Wednesday Productions, Station Agent, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Dinklage is a vegetarian; the beef jerky he eats in the film was actually made of tofu.

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Goofs

Olivia's knees when she's lounging on the couch during the "Have you ever been in love?" scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Henry Styles: Morning, professor.
Finbar McBride: Good morning.

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Connections

Featured in 10th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Beautiful End"
Written by Fred Shafer and Bruce Wojick
Performed by Klear
Courtesy of www.klearband.com

User Reviews

Best film of 2003

This is an amazing film -- it has humor, intelligence and emotion. With a minimum of dialog, it conveys a great deal of wisdom regarding the human condition.

Peter Dinklage excels as a train enthusiast who thinks a move to the small train depot he inherits may afford him the peace and quiet he craves. As a result of his dwarfism, he has been on the receiving end of too much cruelty, sometimes thoughtless but all too often intentional, so all he wants is to be left alone. Once ensconced in the depot, however, he meets a few people (most notably an artist played by Patricia Clarkson) who bring to his life all the complications involved in relationships. And that's what this film is all about: we are all fallible individuals, but ultimately we need each other.

High marks to Thomas McCarthy for directing and writing this treasure. The only thing I don't understand is why it was assigned an "R" rating.