When Jon and I saw The Station Agent in 2004 (?) I was stunned to find out that it was Thomas McCarthy's first film. So delicate were the characters approached and so subtlety funny were the humorous movements in that sad film about a lonely man, that I was sure this was an experienced and skilled hand at work. I was wrong.
When I discovered (after seeing it) that The Visitor is his movie as well, it made perfect sense.
The Visitor is another film about a lonely person -- another film that is perfectly cast and played -- another film that tackles something as big as isolation and solitude without being heavy handed.
Walter, the main character (played perfectly by Richard Jenkins who was the father/ghost on Six Feet Under), finds his way though his sadness by meeting a guide (actually a few guides) who shepherd him though his own baggage. He is as surprised as we are at the man who emerges.
This film tackles some bigger issues in the periphery, but it transcends the need to solve or answer or even comment on the big picture by just showing us what we need to know or what Walter needs to know.
Thoughtful and well done.
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