The Station Agent

Little things mean a lot in writer-director Tom McCarthy’s delightful relationship drama about disparate people who connect through an abandoned New Jersey train depot. The Station Agent centers on dry-humored train enthusiast and dwarf Fin (Peter Dinklage), hunky Latino hot dog vendor Joe (Bobby Cannavale), and scatterbrained artist Olivia (Patricia Clarkson), but the entire SAG award-nominated cast enlivens McCarthy’s nuanced script with their actions as much as their words. One scene calls for budding pals Fin, Joe, and Olivia to share beef jerky during a summer walk. Another finds Joe trying in vain to share solitary Fin’s footrest. They’re a curious, embraceable bunch whose chemistry feels contagious… EXTRAS …as the commentary track makes radiantly clear. The director and cast chat enthusiastically about Clarkson’s naturally rosy lips, Cannavale’s improvised dialogue, and Dinklage’s intrepid train chasing, from a lawn chair strapped inside Joe’s hot dog truck.