Loved this movie, but from early descriptions, I assumed that Finbar would be an actual working station agent. My first viewing corrected this assumption. After Henry died, Fin's job at The Golden Spike evapoarted,and the station was decomissioned, so what exactly did Fin do to pay for groceries and bar tabs?
Anybody have a theory?
he was retired it was explained in the movie that he was retired and its a well known fact that midgets retire in a early age. Apparantly.
shareThat thing about him retiring early (the one to Michelle Williams) is a joke. He's just being cute and giving her a line.
shareI got the feeling that he was saying he was retired, but was more likely taking a year or so off to get his life in order. Or maybe he had a ton of money saved from being frugal over the years. He's too young for Social Security and how could he collect disability? There was nothing wrong with him, he was able to work.
sharei think it was a joke, but some forms of dwarfism have shorter lifespans, maybe some do retire early. I think achondroplasia typically have normal lifespan though which is what the actor has.
shareHe was retired, but after all he would have for sure some savings and what are all his expenses in station? He must pay only for food and nothing else, so it's very cheap life there, even when he had small savings he could live there without job for years.
Peter Markoff
If you don't like my english, write it to me in my own language.
Electricity, taxes, city water, food.
We're talking a $15K a year lifestyle. Now assuming he was 30 and he thought he'd only make it to, say, 50, he'd need about $300K, which he probably didn't have, but if he had $200,000 he might be able to make it with the interest and all. He might even be able to go with less, but if he lived longer, he'd have to get a job.
You must be joking more than 1000USD per month in location like that? You can live decent life for sure with 1000USD/month in Prague, Budapest or Bratislava (houses near LA are nowadays cheaper than in Bratislava) and not sh*thole like that. AFAIR he didn't have electricity, he didn't need water and what taxes? He would not have any income so no income taxes and house tax per year in that location should be close to zero also, so his only expenses are practically food. But even with electricity and tap water, he could live with no problems in location like that with 300-500USD per month in warm climate.
Peter Markoff
If you don't like my english, write it to me in my own language.
My assumption was that at some point he got utility service (electric and water). Remember he gets a bill that he uses to get his library card. What else would he get a bill for? There are a couple of scenes at the depot when it appears he has some electric light so that's just how my mind worked around the issue.
As for income, you can live on an amazingly small amount of money if your housing is paid for. My former upstairs neighbor did not work, but had an inheritance that paid his rent utilities and food, a total of $500 a month. I was jealous. :)
New Jersey taxes are HIGH. The town was a nice town. Not $1,000 a month, but maybe $200 a month. Electricity would be about $100. If he had city water, there's a bill for that and if not, add another $50 to the electrical bill for pumping his own.
Does he have medical insurance?
well if he's retired wouldn't he get a pension?
or am i being really stupid and don't you get a pension in America? haha i don't know much about financial stuff across the pond.
You don't get a pension unless your employer has a pension program, or you've put money away in a self-directed pension fund. I'm pretty sure their rundown little train shop didn't have a pension plan.
Fin might qualify for Social Security or other government programs, but he wouldn't be getting much.
You don't get a pension unless your employer has a pension program, or you've put money away in a self-directed pension fund. I'm pretty sure their rundown little train shop didn't have a pension plan.Yes, I thought everyone at least got social security at retirement. My update letters tell me I'm in line for about $500 per month, which isn't much, but Finn might be able to live on that considering all he has is bills and food but no rent or mortgage. As a single person I was able to live on $700 a month and that included having rent to pay.
Fin might qualify for Social Security or other government programs, but he wouldn't be getting much.
Finn owned the station house
I assume Olivia's Home/Cherokee is paid for
Joe lives in Manhattan with his father
Plus whatever olivia earned from the paintings
then take into account Finn putting away enough to retire
you could live quite easily having only food utilities to pay for
>> house tax per year in that location should be close to zero
Spoken like someone who's never paid property taxes, or doesn't live in the US. Newfoundland is in Passaic county NJ, which has one of the highest tax rates in the state (I live about 10 miles from where the movie was set). He had about 1/2 acre of property, and even with the depot being old & rundown, his taxes would be at least $2000-3000/year.
The movie, almost deliberately, didn't deal with how these people earned a living; it wasn't really part of the story. Joe was filling in on his dad's truck; and considering how much time he spent with Fin, there's no way he was making much from it. Olivia is maybe living rent-free in the house, but she would still have expenses. Her divorce wasn't finalized, so she wasn't getting alimony yet. The only one that seems to have an actual job is Emily, and librarians in this area don't make much. My local library is mostly staffed with volunteers; there are only a couple of paid employees.
Olivia made money as a painter, didn't she?
shareI know this post is crazy old, but you are right on...the taxes this year on that property are $4,432.28! Here's the link:
http://mcweb1.co.morris.nj.us/TaxBoard/TRPropertyDetail.jsp?Pin=14_571 _2.01&TaxYear=2014
:D
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Haha close to zero taxes in Newfoundland and Rockaway?? Those areas have some of the highest suburban property tax rates in the state (and this state has some of the highest property tax rates in the nation). (I haven't seen this movie yet so Im not sure what his actual house in the movie was like though, but even a shack would get hit with a decent bit of property taxes here since the land is so expensive and tax rate per home value is so incredibly steep there).
And warm weather climate? That place is in the highlands of northern NJ. Last winter there were a bunch of days there when the high temps were only in the teens in Fahrenheit. Where they filmed got like three feet of snow last February alone.
$200-300 a month would have anyone here starve and freeze to death, that is so far below the poverty line here it's not even funny
He probably just has savings. Who knows? Maybe along with the depot his friend left him some money, maybe his parents left him an inheritance, maybe he's just been saving for a few years.
His finances was one of those unanswered questions in the movie. I kind of liked the way so many things weren't explained, for example... how Olivia's son died or what's up with Joe - anything about his life beyond the ice cream truck and that his dad is sick.
Probably claiming all sorts of benefits.
____________________________
"I kneel only to god. I don't see him here."
how Olivia's son died
She tells Fin that he fell of the monkey bars.
I wondered that too, but for the most part did not let it affect my enjoyment of this sweet story. But if I had to guess, I'd guess that he had a good chunk of savings. Chances are he didn't have much of a social life while working at the model train shop, and he didn't seem to be the kind of guy who'd blow money on frivolous things. So most likely he'd been putting most of his paycheck into savings all his life, maybe even investing it wisely.
share[deleted]
my guess is that finn is living off of some kind of social security/disability benefit along with whatever he may been able to save. olivia may be living on a divorce settlement or perhaps a legal settlement from her son's death. joe is the one that doesn't make sense to me -- early on he states that he lives in manhattan. however, we only see him randomly working on his father's food truck which he seems to close it at the drop of a hat & even turns away customers. who knows?
i just saw this movie today for the first time -- it is a quiet, lovely film.
I like the way you said that: "It is a quiet, lovely film."
It is. One of my favorites.
why do you care?
shareThe movie takes place in a span of a couple of weeks. I don't think he was very worried about taxes. He had no running water or electricity. The property itself was probably very cheap. It's probably not even zoned for living. It's an abandoned historical building. Also It's probably just the little space with the wooden house, how much is that worth like 30 grand? Groceries? The guy is a little person. He's 4'5" he'll be full with like half a sandwich. I've lived in the boondocks as they say, and you can get along with less than $500 a month. In his case like $300. The guy reads books for fun for gods sake, he was stoic as hell. Meaning he didn't need for much. First time he shopped he grabbed a gallon of water and cigarettes, that as much as he needs and the napkins. And the alcohol? People bought him drinks all the time just to see him drunk. Which brings me to a the real question, was he *beep* in the woods?
share[deleted]
Fin was far too young to draw social security and he wasn't disabled. He probably had some savings from his frugal lifestyle. And he may have been collecting unemployment as his involuntarily lost his job. The Cuban guy was probably just living with his rents, bumming around and filling in for his dad working the truck. The woman was recently separated and had some money (she and her husband owned a home in Princeton and a weekend home where she was staying, which means they had some money in the bank, etc. she could live off of for a time).
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