I had heard good things about this film before viewing but I was totally oblivious to the plot or cast. Just the way I like it. However after a low-key five minutes discovering the film would centre on the life of a trainspotting dwarf I was tempting to ask for my money back. I'm glad I stuck with it though because this a little (excuse the phrase) gem.
<*dv_3*> Finbar (Peter Drinklage) is a lone train-obsessed dwarf (come and get me ladies) who inherits a remote rundown train station in Newfoundland, New Jersey (its equivalent in the U.K. would probably be some one-sheep town in Wales, somewhere like Cardiff i guess) when his friend and boss dies. Since he no longer has a job or any friends he decides to up sticks and check out his inheritance. Newfoundland is the kind of place with one bar and one convenience store, some hillibillies and not a lot else. Quite pleasant in the summer. F*cking depressing as hell in the winter. Margate springs to mind. So a cross between Margate and Cardiff with hillbillies if you can imagine such a hell-hole.
Typically in places with little to do everyone one is obsessed with each others comings and goings and Finbar cuts quite a shape. Finbar has had years of taunts and understandably likes to keep himself to himself but soon he is the centre of attention and grudgingly befriends Joe (Bobby Carnavale), a lairy wiseguy Cuban hotdog vendor whose father his housebound and distracted artist Olivia (Patricia Clarkson who is coming to terms with the death of her son and separation from her husband ). The film explores the dynamic between the trio as they go about their humdrum lives.
<*dv_0*> Potentially this film could have been a disaster. A silver screen version of "Take The High Road", a depressing portrait of American Nowheresville with a cast of Johnny Nothings where nothing much happens and not much is acheived. It is to writer/director Thomas McCarthy's credit that he manages to embue a warmth into the relationships as they slowly unfold and we learn a little more about each of the trio. From awkward beginnings the group become very close, their loneliness and lack of direction bringing them together. This bond is the basis of the film and the characters so convincing that lack of plot development is rendered unimportant.
<*dv_2*> Drinklage and Carnavale make a great double act. A stoic Little and a wisecracking Large who complement each other perfectly. Finbar shows Joe that there is more to life then booze and birds and likewise that Finbar will gain more from life by taking the odd risk.
<*dv_1*> There is quite a lot of humour contained in the first half which had me laughing out loud but things take a turn as we discover what has driven this unusual group to such a remote part of America. An understated film that is content to give the audience time to warm to it rather then clobbering you with set pieces. For fans of guns and explosions it is best avoided but those looking for something off the beaten track this could be the film for you.
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