I remember a period when this film was one of the most recommended films by many movie people I talked about movies with. That was the mid to late 2000s when Peter Dinklage was virtually unknown, same with Bobby Cannavale, and Tom McCarthy was still mostly an actor rather than the Oscar-winning writer and great director he is today (for those who don’t know, he wrote and directed Spotlight (2015)). So yeah, before they all became big in one way or another, they met here in McCarthy’s debut as a director and writer.
It was fascinating going back 20 years and watching them all (alongside Patricia Clarkson and Michelle Williams, by the way) act in this little indie film before they all became huge. And that, weirdly and cruelly, is the only reason this film doesn’t work as it might have 20 years ago as I think the main charm of this film is you not knowing all of these actors are so good. And The Station Agent banks on them a bit too much, as the story kind of goes from somewhere to nowhere.
I realise this was supposed to be one of those “slice-of-life”, character-driven movies, and I usually love those. But I had two issues with this film the predictability of the story and the ending. Let’s start with predictability; when I say this is as indie as it gets, I mean it. And if you have seen a few indie movies (like I have), nothing about this film will surprise you. A man who is quirky or unique in some way gets his life turned upside down when something major happens in his life. In this instance, he inherits a piece of land with a train station. And who would have guessed it; he is, of course, really into trains, where he not only knows different train models and makes, he goes train watching.
So this man (played by Dinklage) moves to his new train station, where he just chills around, getting to know the locals; it’s all about the vibes. One thing that wasn’t clear was whether he happened to have some money saved or maybe he also inherited money along the train station because he doesn’t work and is not in any rush to get a job. Anyway, he meets up with locals, and they slowly become friends; some feelings ensue, and they might or might not return those feelings. Some other things happen I won’t spoil, and then the film ends.
And when I say the movie “just ends”, believe me, it happens without any prior warning. When it seems we might be going towards some resolution or answers, the movie just ends. If you are a frequent reader, you know I have often said I don’t want movies to spell everything out, tie everything with a nice big bow, on the contrary. But The Station Agent is one of the rare exceptions where I wanted more of… everything. I wished to get to know the characters more, as some seemed to only be examined on a surface level (like Bobby’s or Michelle’s characters). And I hoped for some resolution to the story, but this film merely hints at things. And in this case, I didn’t think it worked as well.
But other than those things, The Station Agent is a charming film with incredibly stacked casting full of “soon to be famous” people in front of the camera and (at least one) behind it. It is a delightful little movie full of warm moments that don’t necessarily bring the film together as well. It’s like the pieces/scenes of this film are better than the overall result. I am not saying this film is bad by any means, no. I think if I were to watch it in 2005, let’s say, I would have probably loved it as it would surprise me how many great actors I have not heard about are there. But knowing everything I know about them and watching them in many other shows or movies, I know they all have been much better. I know that’s not fair, and I would love not to have that knowledge and be surprised, but that is impossible. This movie definitely felt like one of those “at the moment” movies; if you saw it in 2003, you would probably remember it fondly. But I am willing to bet you if you were to watch it now, you would see some holes here and there as you won’t be as captivated by the main protagonists because you have seen them all in many different things.
Overall, The Station Agent is a fascinating movie. I believe your enjoyment of it would directly correlate with how many films of “its kind” you had watched before as if you had seen some, nothing about this will surprise you. But if you are looking for one of those slice-of-life films with a cast of great performers before they were famous, this film might be for you. I would recommend it, but with the caveat that if you want to watch a great indie film by Tom McCarthy, do yourself a favour and watch The Visitor (2007). A movie that is still criminally underseen.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke
