The Station Agent
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. When you look just at the plot synopsis (“A dwarf inherits a train depot and finds friendship, and maybe love!”), it sounds like one of those dreadful foreign films where people laugh and cry and run through fields, hugging, loving and learning. Ugh.
Instead, this is the funniest movie I’ve seen that doesn’t contain a single joke. It’s a drama about a dwarf that avoids all the obvious situations. It’s incredibly sweet-natured without being cloying.
In some ways it reminds me of “After Life,” because it’s a movie with a high-concept plot that plays out in an extremely naturalistic, low-key way. The three leads are all outstanding, making you believe that these people (an anti-social dwarf, an effusively friendly hot dog vendor, and a prickly artist) could become friends.
Plus, as my friend Susan said after the movie, it includes the best scene ever about beef jerky. What more can a moviegoer ask for?
Highly recommended.
That’s one hot dwarf.