Train Dreams, based on the Novella by Denis Johnson, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2025. Recently making its way to Netflix, I watched it to try to understand what all of the hype was about for this stunning picture.
The plot is simple, centering on the life of a hard-working Robert Granier- played by Joel Edgerton. Through the decades, we see Robert go through the highs and lows of a constantly changing United States during the 20th century. It is not the world that the film draws attention to though, but Robert’s personal struggles to find his way and meaning in life.
A Beauty to Behold
It won the Critics’ Choice award for Best Cinematography and you can easily see why. It is rare in modern cinema for a film to be so profoundly beautiful, but I found myself completely in awe of every well-crafted frame.
The film often used long-distance shots that lingered. This caused me to feel like I was looking at a painting. I took in the scenery that makes such a big part of the essence of the movie. This would not have been achieved by quick cuts or being close up to the action. You have to take it all in before the camera lets you move on.
The muted composition of the film only added to the realism of the plot. Bright colours were used sparingly. Colour was used as a way of reflecting how Robert felt.
His wife, played by the magnificent Felicity Jones, wore brighter colours, contrasting with Robert’s life as a logger, which forced him to regularly leave her. His time at work instead replaced bright colour with deep shades of cold blue.
Only at the end of Robert’s life did the colour return, with one of the most emotionally impactful sequences of the film bringing in bright yellow as a key part of the scene. This only adds to the picturesque nature of the film.
An examination of life’s struggles
Robert is an ordinary man; he works hard and is mostly good to people. Director Clint Bentley explores the struggle of finding meaning in an otherwise mediocre life in Train Dreams.
The most poignant line in the film for me was delivered by Kerry Condon as Claire Thompson. “The dead tree is as important as the living one.” This sums up the theme of the film of believing in one’s own meaning, everything is important.
A theme that was also subtly included was the idea of appearing strong as a man. Robert and his family fell into the perfect nuclear model, but Robert himself struggled to maintain the typical masculinity of being a man during the period.
A scene that stuck out to me was Robert apologising for crying after a particularly traumatic event. He broke down and apologised for it. I believe this resonates with an audience even now. Joel Edgerton’s masterful display of emotion only adds to it.
A slow watch
Whilst purposely designed to be a slow-burning film, like many of its type, it finds itself dragging and lacking clear direction at points. In simple terms, the film does not follow a clear narrative; we simply follow a man’s life from childhood to death.
Whilst this is obviously the goal of film to make the audience ponder, which it achieved brilliantly, the film is still far from easy watching at points due to its thought provoking nature.
There is an argument to be made that this is both a good and bad thing- I personally liked how the film got me thinking- but equally, there is such a thing as being too obsessed with meaning and not with narrative.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
