The Station Agent

This morning I finally watched The Station Agent. I had it on tape for a couple of weeks now, but because I waited too long I kind of lost interest in the movie. But finally today I decided to see it. I'm really amazed by the beauty of it. It's this perfect little film. Everything about it is great. After the first couple of minutes I suddenly felt this rush of joy come over me, this feeling of intense fulfillment. And all of that because of the great, interesting characters. This film touched me so much. I really haven't felt about a film in this way in quite a long time. It's weird, 'cause it's just such a simple premise. It's just about regular people. Nothing big happens. But the characters are so moving, especially Patricia Clarkson's character, Olivia. And she's played so well. Patricia has this very natural way of acting. She really gave her character personality. Yesterday I watched Walk The Line and even though I liked it, I did feel it missed something. This film just has a lot of heart and it really shows. Patricia Clarkson's performance is one of the best I've seen so far. And I have to say I would give her an Oscar over Reese Witherspoon's performance any time, even though Reese was very good also.

What is it about?

The story is about Fin, who isn't very tall which is why people call him a dwarf and look at him funny when he walks by. When one day his friend dies, he inherites a little train depot across a railway and decides to live there. He soon meets a lot of new interesting people, like Joe, who owns a hotdog vendor and Olivia, a struggling painter who lost her son Sam and not too long ago went through a divorce. Soon the three of them become close friends. They make walks together and watch trains, which is one of Fin's passions. He also meets Claire, a girl who invites Fin to speak in front of her class at school, and Emily, a young woman who is pregnant from her boyfriend and works at the local library. All of the characters deal with their own struggles and soon Fin finds out, he's not the only one with problems in his life.

Final Verdict: *****

This film really is extraordinary. I knew a lot of people liked it and I knew it was something special, but I never realized I would like it so much. This could definitely be a favourite of mine which I would've never expected. It's funny, but also very sad at some times. I truly loved it. Only the ending felt kind of abrupt. There weren't any real indications that the film was about to end. And I know it doesn't have to, but it kind of came unexpected and with a film as wonderful as this one you just want to prepare yourself for the ending. You just want to be able to say goodbye to the film and its characters and the wonderful feeling you got from watching it and which you probably will not feel for a very long time. Not until the next gem of a film comes along, which can take very long. I really thought every character was very loveable, they all got their own set of characteristics and their kind of uncommen friendship feels very realistic. I loved how these characters are attracted to each other and don't mind about the way they look. They don't care that Fin is a little person. It just doesn't matter. It's not what their friendship is based on. This film is really nice. It just shows how little is needed to touch an audience when you just tell a good story. You don't need a lot of action to move people, to keep their interest. This film is truly wonderful and I've been incredibly touched by it. It definitely is a film everyone should see.