Somebody Else's Nimrod

Memo to awards-show producers everywhere: "Hey Ya" is an almost ludicrously catchy tune, but you can't all use it for your promos. There is such a thing as over-exposure.

The Station Agent is a quiet character piece about a little person who inherits an abandoned train depot in the wilds of New Jersey and decides to move there. James Dinklage turns in an intriguing performance as the trainwatcher and "very simple, boring guy" whose physical condition seems to forever deny him the anonymity he desperately craves. The film is a loving visual depiction of the raggedest edge of suburbia and some rather ragged people. There's a good deal of wry humor. It does feel a little slight--there's a real lack of traditional plot or climax, and even the characters' through-lines are understated--but given that it's only an hour and a half, it doesn't overstay its welcome. Worth giving a shot, or at least renting if it's ever released.