Peter Dinklage has chaRAZma. I already knew this, though, before seeing his performance in the lead role of The Station Agent. I saw Dinklage for the first time on The Daily Show, of all things, and it was clear from his brief interview that this shy, modest guy was a major talent. Then I saw him in Elf, and his one hilarious scene proved it. (Admittedly, it isn't much of a scene, but it's the deadpan earnestness of his character that puts it over the top.)
So I guess I had some high expectations for The Station Agent, and they were more or less met. Dinklage, as expected, is great, playing an ordinary man whom no one will treat as ordinary. He gets to show off his range (in a subdued kind of way), and holds the film together -- a necessary feat, as he's in nearly every scene.
But it's not an exciting film. Not that it's supposed to be, of course; it's a quiet indie, about the developing friendship between three people. It's the kind of movie that when a certain character smiles, it's a triumph. But there's a kind of crowd-pleasing quirkiness/cuteness at work here that seeps in like a water stain, damaging (but not wrecking) the interesting character study it's setting up. Here I'm thinking: Patricia Clarkson's first and second encounter with Dinklage; the coffee truck that just happens to be parked in front of the Dinklage's new residence (seems like an awful place to attract customers); the residence itself, an old train station that looks rotted yet is still all ready for someone to move in. It's like McCarthy didn't trust these characters to be interesting in and of themselves.
That's a shame, because Dinklage, Clarkson, and Bobby Cannavale are excellent, needing only a couch to bring these people to life. I especially want to highlight Cannavale as coffee vendor Joe, playing a very real "type" (call it the loquacious stoner frat boy) that could have been broad and annoying, but Cannavale does it with gentleness and humor.
So, good, but ultimately underwhelming. Hopefully, Peter Dinklage will go on to bigger and better things now. (If he wasn't a dwarf, he'd no doubt put Colin Farrell Inc. out of business). To borrow a phrase from Mike D'Angelo's review, pituitary discrimination must stop.
Where we saw it: film | We deign to rate it: outta 100I came away from this movie feeling the same as you did, although discrimination or no, I fear that Dinklage will be stuck in a future of Station Agent indie roles specifically designed for him.
The other option is cameo's in Elf style stories where inches are the punch line. It is a shame, because he's good. He's handsome, earnest and obviously funny. But if it hadn't been for this movie, he may well have been doomed to a future of Oompah Looompah, Hobbit stand in, Tattoo reprisal, Droid suit-wearer or being tossed in a parody of Australian Dwarf Tossing (which, in its presentation would be both an ode and a parody, much as many so-called rape scenes are designed to titillate).
Can you name one other dwarf who has (ahem) risen above his lot to become an actor in roles that didn't rely on him/her being short? I would say only Billy Barty, but looking at his IMDB listing it appears that he was the animation stand in for Bilbo in the 1978 Lord of the Rings, so there you go. I'm not sure the world is ready yet. Or maybe Dinklage is just happy to get work.
I keep imagining the actor’s parties where gregarious people come up to him to congratulate him on his success in the Station Agent, only to end of re-enacting some of the more uncomfortable moments the movie was showing us.
Posted by: Martin at February 4, 2004 07:58 AMNo!
NO!
It doesn't have to be that way!
He could be Callistus.
He could be Hippolytus.
He could be Gilbert.
See what I mean?