The Station Agent (15)

Very few actors can truly carry a film. Many can play a lead, of course, but they are usually supported by a range of distractions, be it action and special effects or a diverting subplot. Removing the distractions is a risky business, as anyone unfortunate enough to have seen Edward Burns in Confidence will know. Peter Dinklage is on screen for almost every second of The Station Agent, and when he's not he's missed.

Dinklage plays Fin, a dwarf. Fin loves trains, and sees himself as a simple, boring man. Unfortunately everyone else sees him as an object of fascination, and the film subtly reveals the implications of this, as a shopkeeper brazenly takes his photograph, or a schoolgirl asks which grade he's in.

Fin inherits a station office in a deserted area of New Jersey, and moves in immediately. He's a quiet, dignified man, and all he wants is to be left alone, but his good looks and prepossession make him a magnet for the locals, and despite his best efforts he is forcibly befriended by Joe, a gregarious hotdog vendor, and Olivia, a mother in mourning. As the story develops we and Fin begin to understand his loneliness, and the risks that friendship brings.

The Station Agent is a tender, moving film, with no distractions. The camera rarely moves, the soundtrack is simple and effective, and most of what action there is involves Fin walking along a deserted train track; but there are no dull moments. Each of the three main characters is drawn with depth and care, so the first time they have dinner together we're surprisingly pleased.

It's also a very funny film, with a number of laugh out loud moments, including one involving spilt coffee which I really shouldn't spoil. Much of the comedy comes in the early exchanges between Fin and Joe, such as when Joe eventually manages to arrange to tag along on a walk, and immediately starts calling people to turn it into a group outing.

The Station Agent is Thomas McCarthy's first film, and a model of economy and taste. I can't wait for his second.

David Haviland, December 2003