Thursday, Sep. 15, 2011

Win Win

If you saw director Thomas McCarthy you would probably recognize him as an actor. He’s played a variety of supporting roles in films and on TV. But he’s also directed two extraordinary films – “The Station Agent” and “The Visitor.” Both delve into loneliness and loss and breaking through the barriers we set on ourselves in various ways. In “The Station Agent,” it’s a man with dwarfism moving to an abandoned train depot and finding new friends to share a hot dog with. In “The Visitor,” it’s a solitary professor who finds friends through music and journeys into New York subways to find a connection to the faceless masses with a drum. In “Win Win,” it’s a lost kid and a coach who find family by wrestling. The wrestling becomes a metaphor as much as a succinct plot device. If you want to ensure a film’s reliability on the acting front, hire Paul Giamatti. He just makes everyone better. Amy Ryan is no slouch either. Their two performances are worth the price of admission. McCarthy doesn’t blow away his first two films but this one holds its own, making McCarthy’s directing career a win win win. Worth a watch.