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:

Tom McCarthy

Writer:

Tom McCarthy (as Tom Mccarthy)

Stars:

Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 28 wins & 31 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:

fitting in | loner | new in town | unlikely friendship | railroad agent | 

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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 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le chef de gare

Filming Locations:

Greenpond Lake, Rockaway, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$57,785, 5 October 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,739,376, 4 April 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

SenArt Films,Next Wednesday Productions,The Station Agent

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 ate in the film was made of tofu.

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Goofs

Set in New Jersey, but Emily's car has Arizona license plates.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Best Films of 2003 (2004)

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Soundtracks

Aura Lee
Arranged by Robert Hackl (as Bob Hackl) and Ken Stange
Performed by Sourcerer
Courtesy of DreamWorks Music Publishing

User Reviews

Well-acted, concise story, nicely put together

The Station Agent is one of those films where there doesn't seem to be much in the way, at least in conventional terms, of a story being told without dubious circumstance. Whoever Finbar- Fin (Peter Dinklage, in a mostly low-key, appropriately observant performance) meets in the small town of Newfoundland, NJ will either be at some degree of a friend to him, or someone who passes him by and scoffs at his apparent height of four foot five inches. The way writer/director Thomas McCarthey has characters interact with each other is also rewarding, since they come off as solid and believable to their situations (the life-affirming Joe, the sweet and lonely Olivia, the little fascinated girl Cleo, and the young, sexy Emily). And at the same time he doesn't lose sight of the center of the film, which is the obsession with trains. It's a wonderful motif to have with these characters- most especially for Fin- who don't seem to go anywhere much, and are content to watch them go by as they stay put in the town. By the end I felt like I saw a heart-warming comedy, despite the sad moments, as it went for a more human side to actions and dialog, instead of a 'slapstick-because-there's-a-dwarf' ideal to comedies. Fin is a person, and we're given him as a uniquely empathetic persona in Dinklage's performance. A-