For Criterion Consideration: Thomas McCarthy’s The Station Agent

I’m a late bloomer when it comes to Game of Thrones. It took me 2 full seasons of hoopla, fanfare, praise and nerd-love to get me to finally sit down and start watching the series. Before I started watching (which was 2 weeks ago), I have to say that I’ve always been a fan of its breakout star, Peter Dinklage. Even since the 2003 film The Station Agent, the subject of this For Criterion Consideration. When I worked at Best Buy, I always fashioned myself as an aspiring filmmaker but also saw myself as a film critic without the proper accreditation that is required to call yourself that, but while I worked at the crappy retail job, I became the Roger Ebert of the everyday customer. Suggestions would be asked by people, young and old, big and small, of any and all varieties, and I became known as the ‘Media Guru’, a name I stuck with for much longer than I thought I could ever fathom.

Why do I yammer on about this back story instead of the film at hand? I’m getting to that. So when I started frequenting advanced screenings and writing about them secretly for various sites under different aliases, The Station Agent was one film I got to view before the country did. I went in thinking it seemed to be a quirky indie comedy starring a little person and how good could it actually be. Shame on me for ever thinking that and looking at Peter Dinklage as nothing more than a novelty before giving him (and any other actor or actress) the respect he deserved to gain a perspective on his prowess. And this film, while giving an understated and almost at times what seems an emotionless performance, he won my heart from that point forward, making sure to always check out a film he’s in (sometimes his performance being the best of the bunch by leaps and bounds).

Let’s not forget its two co-stars, Bobby Cannavale and Patricia Clarkson, who give the film the weight it needs while almost giving it a play-like feel to the festivities. Which is also a compliment toward writer/director Thomas McCarthy (who is 3 for 3 in my book, with his following films The Visitor and Win Win), this being his debut film, really gives some meaty roles to the three primaries and showing different facets of human emotion and how sometimes someone who feels as if they have to be reserved and closed off from the rest of the world because of the way they are treated needs to open up and let life in a little bit. Yes, it has a bit of that corniness on the surface, but it’s just a sheen that you soon don’t mind, especially on repeat viewings when appreciating everything else around it.

If you’re not familiar with the film, Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage) always felt like an outsider, which is why he took a job at a hobby shop in Hoboken with an elderly man. When the owner dies unexpectedly, Fin is told he was left with an old train depot in a rural part of New Jersey called Newfoundland. Because it’s so closed off, he decides to pack up and start a new life there. He meets Joe Oramas (Bobby Cannavale), a roadside snack truck vendor who is only doing the job because his dad is sick. He also becomes entwined with Olivia Harris (Patricia Clarkson), an artist who ran away when her son died in an accident she blames herself for ever since. Fin tries to fight being social with anyone, especially these people, but Joe is a loud and abrasive personality, one that is the complete opposite of Fin’s. Soon enough, they become great friends, wandering around the town and going train watching, an activity Fin loves to do. Olivia is also roped in, somewhat by how anti-social Fin is and also by Joe just inviting himself into activities together.

And that’s the meat of the story right there. There’s other smaller stories tied together, such as a young girl who befriends Fin and wants him to speak at her school about trains but he says no, mainly because he’s afraid to do so. And Emily (Michelle Williams) who works at the library and who Fin likes and tries to protect at one point from her abusive boyfriend. But it’s for those central three performances, especially Dinklage, that makes me love the film more and more with each re-watch in the last 10 years. And what better time than now to bring forth one of the best American indie films of the last decade, a film that showed me and many critics that yes, a little person could be a leading man and not just in a fantasy setting (Yes, I love Willow and Warwick Davis, but I think you know where I’m getting at). The film’s special edition, which had a strong commentary track from McCarthy and a few deleted scenes was always quite sparse for my liking, and has also been long out of print from Miramax. Recently, with the whole Echo Bridge deal, they put out a barebones release which just makes me shake my head in disbelief.

So this is why I hope someone like Criterion can save it from those clutches and giving it the special edition it deserves. And any film shot on a shoestring budget with a limited amount of time that coalesces into a classic in my opinion, really needs to be seen by more people. And I can just picture a wonderful cover art piece depicting the train depot itself, which thankfully always was well placed in posters for the film. Ultimately what made me happy was that it was a small hit, considering it was made for half a million dollars and that’s what I love about film. You can have three actors just hitting it out of the park on all levels and not spend tons of money to do so. This film is about the art of acting and film making and I just want more people to find it like I did back in 2003. And for all you Tyrion fans out there, let’s muster up a movement of epic proportions.