Station to Station

Station to Station (2021)

‘…At first you’ll just be finding your vibe, hitting your stride. That’s when we’ll see what character emerges.” Tom is on a journey to somewhere, but he’s still running from his past and finding his vibe. Station to Station starts out in Tom’s current life, but things are changing quickly. He’s on the move again, but not just physically. His actions are as yet unexplainable, and we’re not sure why or where he’s going.

When he ends up in Las Vegas as a handyman for an internet voyeur camera house (is that what one would call it?), I was wondering where this was going to go. Juxtaposed with the first scenes of the film, I wondered if this was part of his journey in that he was going to learn something about himself here. He made meaningful connections and began to care about the people around him. But as this was happening his recent history was trying to catch up with him.

It was interesting to see the past unfolding in Tom’s present because at the beginning of the film we don’t know what that was or why it caused him to do what he was doing. However, the scenes with Sarah revealed a lot, and then we start to see his actions through a different lens. Until then, I thought maybe he was a sex addict.

One of the themes/takeaways is about pin balling through life, not committing to one scene, or becoming a whole person based on the situation that you put yourself in. When Jordan is talking about Tom’s first days on camera, he indicates that Tom will become someone different based on what their subscribers think he should be. I like how Jordan frames this. ”You never actually want to live up to that – to be what they want. That is a mind fuck, and the only person who benefits is your future therapist.”

I liked most of the expository dialogue from each character, and I enjoyed that it took the time to develop each of them beyond a plot device or pretty face. Each was a little different from the others, although the common thread seemed to be some type of trauma or unresolved past issues. Well, I suppose we all have those, right? 

Jordan was quite the enigma and also manipulator and controller. We never really do understand him and what is going on there, but he comes across as both savior and villain simultaneously. Well, more villain than nice guy actually. 

The story with Kai was interesting in that we got a lot of exposition about his previous life, and his presence in the house makes sense based on where he is at emotionally. He actually seems to make more of a character arc than Tom when at the end of the film he has noticeably changed. Maybe this was based on the advice given to him by Tom that maybe Tom hasn’t even taken to heart: ”…maybe be who you were supposed to be…. I know about floating through life going station to station, letting circumstance dictate what happens to a person. It doesn’t fix anything.” 

Waiting to be fixed by circumstance is like assembling ingredients for a cake on the counter and then wondering why you don’t have a cake yet. I enjoyed the journey that Tom was on and the people he met along the way. The film made me think and connect the dots throughout Tom’s exploration of himself and those around him. I wish the scenes and continuity were a little tighter – more succinct – but for an indie film with a budget of less than $25k, the film was more than the sum of its parts. I’ll be interested to see what the writer and director, Benjamin Bryant, does next.