“Big Fan” has opened a door for Patton Oswalt, an actor who, after years of playing offbeat sidekicks, proves he can hold down a feature-length film in the lead. In fact, it’s hard to imagine this film without him – “Big Fan” reaches for different emotions at the same time, and Oswalt manages to be funny even when he descends into tragedy and self-pity. There’s so much going on here that a lesser actor might’ve overplayed it, but Oswalt understands the limits of his character and how they’ve shaped his life. The result is as intimate as it is haunting.

Part of what makes Oswalt’s performance so interesting is the way the movie’s barebones plot thrives off of it. He plays a New York Giants fan named Paul Aufiero, a parking-garage attendant from Staten Island. He calls in every night to a talk-radio show with well-rehearsed (but poorly executed) rants on his worship of the Giants, and comes to their defense whenever their detractors call in with fighting words. Each Sunday, he heads to Giants Stadium with a fellow football geek named Sal (Kevin Corrigan), who doesn’t mind sitting in the parking lot and watching the game on TV.

Paul’s love for everything Giants gets put to the test when he meets his hero, linebacker Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm) – he and Sal follow Quantrell’s entourage to a club, only for Paul to wind up in a one-sided fight with him and wake up days later in a hospital. Paul’s family encourages him to press charges, but when a detective (Matt Servitto) interviews him for details, Paul claims that his memory is a little fuzzy. Even though he doesn’t dismiss the thought of bringing Quantrell to justice altogether, he can’t help but protect the man who’s the center of his universe.

Praise from lots of critics for Oswalt is well-deserved, but he doesn’t carry the film single-handedly. Writer and director Robert D. Siegel does his part to guide the drama in the right direction, and understands how this material can be funny. The laughs never rob the film of its impetus, though, and they give the characters more than one note to play. It’s especially interesting to see Oswalt find humor in some of the darkest corners of Paul’s world, which makes the pain in his life seem easier to bear. Comedy is the most gentle way to be truthful.

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