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Tom McCarthy
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Actor-turned-filmmaker Tom McCarthy set out to shatter boilerplate Hollywood moviemaking with his debut feature, the sparse human drama
The Station Agent. His tale is subtle and unique. Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage), a model train repairman, looks to continue his loner lifestyle after relocating to a vacant train depot in rural New Jersey where he ends up befriending a fellow recluse (Patricia Clarkson) and the chatty operator of a snack van (Bobby Cannavale). McBride is a dwarf, a source of his difficulty with relating to people, but McCarthy treats him like any other character. McBride's story unfolds simply with an easygoing pace unlike its peer films, independent or otherwise. Talking recently during a publicity tour, McCarthy agrees that
The Station Agent stands apart from other films, yet that hasn't stopped audiences from responding enthusiastically to it.
"It's a very unique style of film and people have a tough time encapsulating it with a line or two, which is always a good sign," McCarthy says. "A lot of my favorite directors make movies like that.
"I'm hearing these numbers, and everyone is encouraged by the box office on our opening weekend. But I was talking to the manager at the Laemmle Sunset Five in L.A., and he's hearing people talk about the movie as they come out of the theater. He watches hundreds of movies come through his theater every year and he's excited, and that's the kind of stuff that gets me excited. I've been screening this film all over the country, and I've gone to Spain with it. We won a grand jury prize at the San Sebastian festival. So it even played well there, and that to me is really thrilling." -- Steve Ramos
