A while back I wrote about this Michael Chabon book I’d found called “McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales”. In his intro, he talks about his boredom with stories “plotless and sparkling with epiphanic dew”. I latched onto that phrase and it’s been reverberating through my head since then.
Part of the reason for this is that it’s a great phrase. The other is that I share his boredom with this type of story. I like my stories (whether they be short, novel or film) to have more than just a character (or characters) who, by the end of the story have had some epiphany which changes their life (or their outlook, or their state of mind, or whatever). I like my stories to have a plot, in other words. I like something to happen, for them to have a beginning, a middle and an end.
Being aware of this, I shouldn’t be surprised by my reaction to The Station Agent. I’ve been hearing about this movie for months. It’s been getting great reviews and ended up on Top 10 lists all over the place (one need merely follow the link above to see the list of awards it's received). So, I had some time to kill on Saturday while Dani was working and, since it was the only thing showing at a convenient time, that’s the movie I saw.
Now, don’t get me wrong… I can see that this is a good movie—there’s some great character work going on here and some very good performances. I can especially see why Peter Dinklage was so passionate about the role in an interview I heard with him. Each of the three characters grows, changes, works through difficult moments in their lives—there’s a mountain of subtext going on here. And, as an actor and a writer, I should appreciate this. This would be some great storytelling… if there were only a STORY HERE!
Instead, we’ve got some interesting characters thrown together in a small, out-of-the-way town where several events take place within their lives. These aren’t connected by any overarching plot or anything like that—it’s kind of a “slice of life” sort of thing. I’m sure there’s a theme—hell, the movie’s probably ALL theme, since there’s no plot! But, when we got to the final scene and the movie just kind of stopped (as opposed to ending, if you get my meaning) I realized that I just didn’t care any more.
So I’m narrowing down the reasons why my art-house pretensions fail me so often. Give me art-house—cool. Give me interesting characters—great! But really, can I just have a story to go along with it, please?
Part of the reason for this is that it’s a great phrase. The other is that I share his boredom with this type of story. I like my stories (whether they be short, novel or film) to have more than just a character (or characters) who, by the end of the story have had some epiphany which changes their life (or their outlook, or their state of mind, or whatever). I like my stories to have a plot, in other words. I like something to happen, for them to have a beginning, a middle and an end.
Being aware of this, I shouldn’t be surprised by my reaction to The Station Agent. I’ve been hearing about this movie for months. It’s been getting great reviews and ended up on Top 10 lists all over the place (one need merely follow the link above to see the list of awards it's received). So, I had some time to kill on Saturday while Dani was working and, since it was the only thing showing at a convenient time, that’s the movie I saw.
Now, don’t get me wrong… I can see that this is a good movie—there’s some great character work going on here and some very good performances. I can especially see why Peter Dinklage was so passionate about the role in an interview I heard with him. Each of the three characters grows, changes, works through difficult moments in their lives—there’s a mountain of subtext going on here. And, as an actor and a writer, I should appreciate this. This would be some great storytelling… if there were only a STORY HERE!
Instead, we’ve got some interesting characters thrown together in a small, out-of-the-way town where several events take place within their lives. These aren’t connected by any overarching plot or anything like that—it’s kind of a “slice of life” sort of thing. I’m sure there’s a theme—hell, the movie’s probably ALL theme, since there’s no plot! But, when we got to the final scene and the movie just kind of stopped (as opposed to ending, if you get my meaning) I realized that I just didn’t care any more.
So I’m narrowing down the reasons why my art-house pretensions fail me so often. Give me art-house—cool. Give me interesting characters—great! But really, can I just have a story to go along with it, please?
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