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The Station Agent
User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 37 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 37
  3. Negative: 4 out of 37

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  1. CharlesM.
    Jun 26, 2004
    9
    A terrific little movie about the interaction of three people whose paths cross at an abandoned train depot in New Jersey. Peter Dinklage is wonderful, as someone who wants to be left alone, but Bobby Cannavale will have none of that. Patricia Clarkson is very good...Dinklage is excellent and Bobby Cannavale gives a knockout performance.
    • 1 of 2 users said yes
  2. JaneP.
    Jul 4, 2004
    10
    Great movie. Touching, funny, and real. It was disturbing to see the cruelty shown by many individuals toward Fin for being physically different. Whether these actions were due to their ignorance or mean-spirit, we could feel Fin's humiliation and isolation. In striking contrast was the genuine kindness and friendship he found in some individuals (who had their own pain to deal with). Definitely hits home on the subject of loss and loneliness. Finally, as the characters discover acceptance and true joy in friendship, the movie, with it's perfect timing, ends. Very satisfying.… Expand
    • 1 of 2 users said yes
  3. [Anonymous]
    Feb 26, 2004
    2
    BORING! I swear, if i saw one more scene with him walking down the train tracks...
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  4. PekkaP.
    Feb 6, 2005
    10
    Ineffably good!
    • 1 of 2 users said yes
  5. DenisG.
    Sep 27, 2005
    0
    Ending not abrupt enough. Ten minutes was too much of this drivel abt implausible characters going nowhere slowly.
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  6. jd
    Oct 19, 2007
    1
    Yet another movie whose success depends on flattering the viewer that he's somehow more intelligent and sensitive than most of the bozos on screen -- which isn't terribly hard for the writer to do, since he's written all the parts. Add to that the usual dose of post-ironic quirk, and the ludicrous notion that the lonely offer each other comfort (if that were true, why would anyone be lonely?) and we've got a Sundance award-winner. What would happen if actual artists started working in this medium?… Expand
    • 1 of 2 users said yes
  7. LawrenceB.
    Aug 21, 2004
    10
    [***PLOT REVELATIONS***] There is nothing I didn't like in the splendid, artful film. Oh, yes, a question or two - maybe even a minor criticism, e.g., why didn't we know, until the dawn, that the onrushing train, when Fin was drunkenly stupified, was a dream? Or, we're all dying to know from where Fin got his money. Or how on earth could Joe or his dad manage to avoid bankruptcy with the income from the food trailer in the middle of nowhere? Nevertheless, the full experience of this movie was so satisfying, funny, alarming, and poignant as to make us cast aside any such trivial inquiries and simply "take it all in" with wonder and pure enjoyment. Indeed, the scripting was so true, the cinematography so crisp and beautiful, the oddly interjected, spare, music so spot on, and the acting so flawless, that it would not be hyperbole to call this a cinema masterpiece.… Expand
    • 1 of 2 users said yes
  8. LeeDallas
    Jan 2, 2004
    9
    Bold, touching, and different, The Station Agent is really a story about how you affect people, no matter how hard you try not to. Superb acting, writing and directing. Great movie that is one of a kind, so see it.
    • 0 of 1 users said yes
  9. MarkR.
    Feb 13, 2004
    10
    This movie stuck a chord with me that speaks to the alienation that most people feel at some point in their lives. This alienation unites the three main characters, even though they feel it in varying degrees. Only Fin can feel it in every aspect of his life and affected more brutally than the others.
    • 0 of 1 users said yes
  10. StephenS.
    Apr 25, 2004
    7
    Usually, I can?t abide movies that appear to just end abruptly. This one had sufficient credit in the bank that I just didn?t care. Peter Dinklage plays the dwarf-sized Fin, who inherits a disused railway depot in a pretty part of New Jersey. Bobby Cannavale is Joe, running the roadside café out front of the depot, and Patricia Clarkson (always good to watch) is Olivia, the separated mother grieving for her son. Director Thomas McCarthy?s sweet situations are so moderately paced as to make John Sayles look like a speedster. Fin does his train buff thing solo, then with Joe, then with Joe and Olivia, in tow. Mobile phones conveniently interrupt as required, but even these are just a sign that true connection is hard to find. Olivia has her grief crisis, which is great cinema, and Fin has his dwarf crisis, perhaps the one doubtful note in the film. Australian audiences relate to Joe, who laps up life, appears unfailingly gauche, and is impossible to embarrass. But just watch out for the look on Joe?s face when he meets Olivia?s ex, and does a wonderfully complicated split-second of contempt, amusement and bravado. … Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  11. JerryH.
    Oct 2, 2003
    10
    A wonderful film and a wonderful cast. There is more humor in this picture than I thought going in -- mainly provided by Bobby Cannavale's Joe, but Dinklage and Clarkson ground the picture in a world in which you wish you could live. Well paced, well shot, the writer/director obviously has promise. I wish more films were like this one. Well done to everyone invlolved. My only complaint -- why did it have to end?… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  12. TheAmbassador
    Oct 24, 2003
    10
    A great film. The plot of this is so real. Nothing is hyped up as would be done in Hollywood; everything is just as it would happen in everyday life. The metascore of 80 for this movie is a serious understatement. Brilliant humour and characters. 10.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  13. FeliciaF.
    Sep 29, 2003
    10
    "Before I leave, Fin, I have to say... You're the man... YOU are the man." The character of Joe is absolutely hilarious. I hope we see much more of Bobby Cannavale in future pictures because he rounded out the unlikely trio of Fin, Joe, and Olivia in such a way that gave the movie wonderful life. This is a must-see picture. It had a similar effect on me that Sling Blade did, but with less of an overt and obvious emotional impact. SEE IT!… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  14. JasonP.
    Nov 24, 2003
    7
    Although I did enjoy this movie, I wasn't as taken with it as most critics. It does have a lot of plusses, the acting, the characters, but there was just something missing for me. I do however recommend that you see it.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  15. TonyL.
    Dec 14, 2003
    6
    I agree with Jason P. There was just something missing in this movie. A question? What did Fin do to earn money? I also thought the ending was rather abrupt. Most people in screening that I saw felt the same way.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  16. MonicaD.
    Jan 14, 2004
    10
    This movie is practically perfect in every way. I can't remember the last time I relaxed and enjoyed a movie this much. Just beautiful! Although it would be criminal to make a sequel, it doesn't stop me from wanting to see more of these characters.
    • 0 of 1 users said yes
  17. Sfo
    Jan 18, 2004
    8
    What a great, quirky and touching film. I wish it hadn't ended so abruptly, but it definitely left me wanting more. The movie made me feel good inside!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  18. BarryR.
    Nov 22, 2003
    9
    This is an interesting and, in its own way, a rather simple and beautiful film about loneliness, being different and caring, all wrapped up in 88 minutes of interesting storytelling. Written and directed by Thomas McCarthy and starring Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson (from "6 Feet Under") and Bobby Cannavale, it is skillfully written, edited, acted and directed in a soft style that makes you feel you are participating in the lives of the characters as a voyeur who sees but is not noticed. The uniquely different physical appearance of the star becomes secondary and a factor you quickly forget as you see beyond the label and into the core of the human being about whom the film surrounds. This is quality filmmaking and worthy of the 9 it gets for taking us to a higher level of cinema without our even knowing it as we experience the magic. See it....you will enjoy it. … Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  19. DavidA.
    Nov 26, 2003
    9
    Wonderfully absorbing. No cheap moments, just three different people finding a connection in the most desolate of places.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  20. Petrovita
    Apr 13, 2012
    6
    A great movie with some interesting view points on life concerning certain types of people. Abit slow at times, but it is indeed a sweet sensitive story among three people who shouldn't actually be going well together. The main character had something that reminded me of myself, which I found interesting. Overall a good movie, but action cravers, stay away from this one! You won't find any of that in this movie.… Expand
  21. pumbaz
    May 29, 2012
    1
    If he wanted to be left alone - in his boring world. Then why should the viewer be interested? I must say that this is the most boring movie I have ever had to sit through. Who cares about this character and why do I want to know more about him if his world is so small that he only wants to watch trains go by. The acting was bad, the plot non-existent. Total Crap !
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Tim Merrill
    80
    Tom McCarthy’s film is never more than small, and that’s how it should be. It is about treasuring life -– sometimes even cheating death -– and it manages to warm hearts in its own uncompromising way, rarely cheating and never belittling.
    Read full review
  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Duane Byrge
    90
    Wonderfully understated, Station Agent is a masterful film and a bracing movie experience. Its power is in large part because of the performers, most prominently Dinklage as the solitary dwarf.
    Read full review
  3. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    75
    The three actors could not be better. Huge feelings are packed into this small, fragile movie. It's something special.
    Read full review
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