The Station Agent

"The Station Agent" is a quiet, insightful study in loneliness, friendship and tolerance. Peter Dinklage ("Elf" and "Find Me Guilty") plays the title role, a handsome dwarf who has made his lifetime hobby of trains into a quasi-obsession when he retires to live near the railroad tracks. He is a solitary soul, content to wallow in his solitude.

Enter a gregarious young man played by Bobby Cannavale ("Shall We Dance" -2004 and "The Night Listener"), who runs a mobile hot dog stand in the back of a van; he has decided to be friends with our hero and he simply can't take no for an answer.

Patricia Clarkson ("Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Miracle") is a divorced artist deeply troubled by the death of her young son. Michelle Williams ("Brokeback Mountain" and "A Thousand Acres") is a local small-town librarian who takes a shine to our leading man.

This is a sweet, poignant examination of solitary people who manage to find each other...and that is enough.