With actor/director Tom McCarthy’s second feature The Visitor about to open in cinemas, it is the perfect time to revisit his charming 2003 debut. Train-obsessed dwarf Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage) inherits an abandoned depot in the middle of nowhere, and sees it as the perfect opportunity to hide away from a world in which his small stature just doesn’t fit.
However, his simple plan is thwarted by an amiable hot-dog vendor and an eccentric artist who seem determined to drag him out from his gloomy solitude.
Beautifully measured performances and a deceptively complex script make this an utterly captivating and surprisingly adult experience.