03/01/26

Netflix

Adapted from Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella of the same name, Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams is set in the Pacific Northwest during the first half of the last century. More character study than story, this beautifully-contrived film proves a difficult watch.

Idaho orphan Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton) is born in poverty, destined to a hard-scrabble life. An itinerant worker, he toils uncomplainingly, felling trees to make way for the expansion of the American railroads. He is watchful and taciturn, but nonetheless forms strong bonds with his fellow loggers. These include Arn Peeples (William H Macy), a sagacious old man concerned about deforestation, and Fu Sheng (Alfred Hsing), shockingly murdered in a racist attack by his colleagues – while Robert silently looks on.

The only glimmer of cheer in Robert’s life is Gladys (Felicity Jones). For a brief period, they enjoy a happy marriage, buying an acre of land, building a cabin, having a baby. But they’re poor, and Robert’s work takes him away from home, so he’s not with Gladys when a forest fire sweeps the region, taking everything – and everyone – he cares about.

From hereon in, Robert becomes even more introverted. It’s as if he’s frozen in time, living hermit-like in his rebuilt cabin, haunted by dreams, flashbacks and premonitions. His occasional brushes with the outside world are jarring: the twentieth century’s brash progression at odds with his pioneer lifestyle. While he’s stuck in the past, stubbornly homesteading, other people are buying motor cars, going to the cinema, landing on the moon.

Edgerton’s performance is undeniably impressive, albeit in an understated, muted way. Here is a man who expects hardship and bears his pain in silence – all of which Edgerton communicates effectively through very little dialogue. Adolpho Veloso’s cinematography is admirable too: the Washington vistas are both beautiful and bleak, the perfect backdrop to Grainier’s grief.

But this is a depressing piece of cinema, with barely any lighter moments to alleviate the misery: no redemption; no hope. It’s clever and moving and has excited much interest from the Awards Academy – but it’s not an enjoyable ride.

3.6 stars

Susan Singfield