For all the space references woven throughout Stationed at Home doesn’t quite stick its landing despite the early promising signs.
The striking aesthetics of the black & white used by director Daniel Masciari certainly gives the film some character and an unassuming charm. And the very same can be said for Ralph (Erik Bjarnar), a taxi driver from a small town working nightshift who’s eager to get home to see the International Space Station fly-over.
What ensues is a night of escapades with drinking buddies (Darryle Johnson and Peter Foster Morris) and a coke-head out of towner (Jeff Dumont).
Set in 1998 it’s very much a film about nothing in many ways, there is a mundanity about it that works and is played well by Bjarnar who meanders about but is able to draw you in to his character.
It’s offbeat and there’s an earnest way about him especially in the scenes alongside Harry (Darryle Johnson) where they this nice dynamic that comedic in parts.
You can’t but feel though it is somewhat indulgent and is aimless. The story trudges on with not much happening but even when events do unfold in the third act they make little to no sense and are borderline ridiculous.
It goes from the one extreme of taking its time getting anywhere to the other which involves a bar crawl where Jack (Jeff DuMont) is introduced. This oddball injects some much-welcomed chaotic energy but does get tiresome.
The dying out of the standard 90 minute movie is more apparent than ever and Stationed At Home is another example of this with its near-two hour runtime. There’s sub-plots left opened that are tied-in but only loosely.
Some of the dialogue is strange and seems more time fine tuning the script could have made a massive difference or even some ruthlessness on the editing floor. It could have helped keep us on this journey with them but instead we are left floating in space wondering when will it end.
Not much in the way of nostalgia of the late ’90s, the time setting is just that and not used as a gimmick and much to the credit of Masciari and his writing partners Jackson Jarvis and Vincent Krohn.
If anything it, in fact, harks back more to the 1920s-30s with its aesthetics but more noticeably in its soundtrack of jazz music from that era. How this is deployed is clever as it is constant throughout whether it is from the car radio or simply playing as part of the soundtrack.
It adds a softness to the film and tenderness to Ralph where we see shades of his childhood, which is done so well and clearly with great care. This is what makes it frustrating as you can see glimpses of what could be but it is all muddled in the inconsistencies in how the story is told.
2025 Glasgow Film Festival – Tickets for films and full programme available here.
