The Station AgentWritten and directed by Thomas McCarthyUSA, 2003 Watched on 28th June 2014First vie

The Station Agent
Written and directed by Thomas McCarthy
USA, 2003

Watched on 28th June 2014
First viewing

I truly loved The Station Agent. I wish there were more films like it. How many films are there with a disabled central character, played by an appropriately disabled actor (the wonderful Peter Dinklage), avoiding the patronisingly “inspirational” overcoming-the-odds narrative. Finn’s achondroplastic dwarfism informs his character and the way strangers react to him – with intrigue, ridicule or pity, each one infuriating in its own way – but this is not a message film. It’s about the unlikely, sometimes strained friendships between disparate lonely people, one of whom happens to be disabled. It’s funny, melancholy, observed beautifully, and acted brilliantly by Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson and Bobby Cannavale.