It may not have the same level of buzz or interest as del Toro’s Frankenstein, but Netflix’s Train Dreams will be the kind of movie I’m sure will be in heavy consideration come the award season and in years to come. It’s a quiet, meditative film from director Clint Bentley that asks more questions than it answers, but lingers long after the credits roll as you try to decipher the greater mysteries of the film.
Set in the early 20th century, Train Dreams chronicles the largely unremarkable life of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), an orphan who dropped out of school and found a living working as a logger in and around Bonners Ferry, Idaho. He eventually meets and marries Gladys Olding (Felicity Jones), with whom he eventually marries, has a child and builds a home together. The nature of his work, including a stint working for the Spokane International Railway, keeps him away from his family and home for long stretches of time, but he crosses paths with many interesting and haunting figures while on the job, many who leave their marks on him, whether for good or bad.
If that sounds like it’s a bit anti-climactic as a synopsis, it kind of is, and that’s also kind of the point. Train Dreams is a bit of a cuncumbrum, as while I was watching it, my impression of the film was that it was good, but nothing showstopping. But as the film concluded and in the days following, the film continued to lurk in my brain, posing questions to me long after the credits had rolled. Questions largely centred around life and our place in the world as individuals and as a species.
Another statement that seems to sound like a negative but is really a strong positive is Joel Edgerton as Grainier, who is damn-near mute and seems incredibly passive and unremarkable. But it’s exactly this that makes the role arguably one of Edgerton’s best in his whole career, a quiet and haunting performance that seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.
It wouldn’t be wild to say that Train Dreams, adapted from the novella of the same name, is a literary film, and this is only personified by the voice-over narration by Will Patton. Voice-over in film is a slippery slope: it can be a great insight into characters or plot (Goodfellas, The Shawshank Redemption) or can ruin a movie thanks to overexplaining the story or suffering from poor delivery (theatrical cut of Blade Runner, The Great Gatsby). Train Dreams falls into the former category. The narrator is an unseen character not present in the film, but recounts the events of the film to us in such an engaging and thematic way. It offers us insight into the otherwise emotionally distant Grainier, and we end up understanding and empathizing with him more as a direct result of the narration.
Shot in 3:2 aspect ratio by Adolpho Veloso, Train Dreams is a gorgeous film that really dives into the naturalistic beauty of the world. The score, by The National’s Bryce Dessner, taps into the emotional and rustic nature of the film quite nicely, offering a warmth that’s needed when dealing with heavier topics.
So if you like introspective films in the vein of The Assassination of Jesse James or The Tree of Life, I think you’ll be in for a treat when it comes to Train Dreams. It’s lingered in my mind far more than I thought it would as I was watching it.