Review – The Station Agent

I think this was the sort of movie my grandfather was expecting when he went to see Trainspotting. This is the blissfully understated story of Fin, a little person who moves into an abandoned train station in the wilds of New Jersey. The move appears to be prompted half by necessity – he has no job after his employer dies – and half from a desire to get away from a city full of people who stare at him and/or mock him. However, his quest for solitude is soon disrupted by a cast of quirky characters thrust by circumstance into his life. This isn’t exactly Local Hero, but the production has more than a little of the same feel to it. Toward the end it gets a little plot-heavy as the characters become emotionally involved with one another. But that aside, this is an excellent example of quiet yet compelling moviemaking. Worth seeing