November 21, 2025
FILM: TRAIN DREAMS
DIRECTED BY: CLINT BENTLEY
STARRING: JOEL EDGERTON, FELICITY JONES, KERRY CONDON
RATING: 2 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I’m a bit baffled by the critical acclaim this film has received since premiering at Sundance earlier this year. It’s a quiet yet unspectacular story written by Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar based on a novella by Denis Johnson. The screenwriters were nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for the excellent Sing Sing last year. The film stars Joel Edgerton as logger Robert Grainier in early 20th Century America who goes through some major hardships and is forever plagued by thoughts and dreams of the losses he has suffered. Also in the cast are three previous Oscar nominees: Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy. So, what is missing here? My guess is that it’s the details likely found in the novella. While significant things happen during the course of the story some feel undeveloped and lacking in the depth needed for viewers to completely latch on to. As is, Grainier plods along through his rough life and most of what we watch is pretty dull to follow.
We first meet him when he is a child and then quickly moves into adulthood as he meets a woman named Gladys (Felicity Jones) with whom he builds a log cabin with in Idaho and has a daughter. Along the way, Grainier works for the railroad before a longer career as a logger. These jobs keep him away from Gladys and the child for extended periods of time. During his work life, he will witness a seemingly hate-based murder, be inspired by the oldest logger (William H. Macy), watch another co-worker be the target of a revenge killing, and brave a devastating fire. Each of these events are depicted fairly briefly as if life is just a series of deaths, losses, and dangerous situations.
Grainier attempts to be hopeful even after one particularly upsetting loss. However, images keep coming back that awaken him at night and, in at least one scene, lead to what appears to be a hallucination regarding a missing family member. Grainier goes through a lot of waiting for his wishes to be answered but he becomes increasingly left alone in his cabin.
None of these plot developments are poorly done by any means. It just doesn’t add up to much.
Edgerton has some emotional scenes as Grainier and is generally convincing as a man who ages through some tough times. The rest of the cast is given limited time on screen. William H. Macy perhaps stretches the most as the old logger with a sense of spirituality that has some positive effect on Grainier. He’s in the film for much too brief a time though. Kerry Condon (Oscar-nominated for The Banshees of Inisherin) turns up as a widow who has taken a job in a lookout post high above the beautiful Idaho landscape. She’s another character that deserves more expansion and screen time. Like Macy, Condon is very good in the role but isn’t given enough room for development.
The soundtrack of the film is filled with a voice over narration by Will Patton along with the sounds and verbal memories of Grainier. As such, there are a lot of flashbacks of the character’s better days before he finds himself in a place of extreme solitude. All of this makes for a reflective portrait of Grainier but not enough to make the experience watching it as terribly interesting.
The film is a disappointment after so many better and more emotionally effective independent films released earlier this year. Although I may be in the minority on this one.
Train Dreams streams on Netflix beginning today.
FILM: TRAIN DREAMS
DIRECTED BY: CLINT BENTLEY
STARRING: JOEL EDGERTON, FELICITY JONES, KERRY CONDON
RATING: 2 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I’m a bit baffled by the critical acclaim this film has received since premiering at Sundance earlier this year. It’s a quiet yet unspectacular story written by Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar based on a novella by Denis Johnson. The screenwriters were nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for the excellent Sing Sing last year. The film stars Joel Edgerton as logger Robert Grainier in early 20th Century America who goes through some major hardships and is forever plagued by thoughts and dreams of the losses he has suffered. Also in the cast are three previous Oscar nominees: Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy. So, what is missing here? My guess is that it’s the details likely found in the novella. While significant things happen during the course of the story some feel undeveloped and lacking in the depth needed for viewers to completely latch on to. As is, Grainier plods along through his rough life and most of what we watch is pretty dull to follow.
We first meet him when he is a child and then quickly moves into adulthood as he meets a woman named Gladys (Felicity Jones) with whom he builds a log cabin with in Idaho and has a daughter. Along the way, Grainier works for the railroad before a longer career as a logger. These jobs keep him away from Gladys and the child for extended periods of time. During his work life, he will witness a seemingly hate-based murder, be inspired by the oldest logger (William H. Macy), watch another co-worker be the target of a revenge killing, and brave a devastating fire. Each of these events are depicted fairly briefly as if life is just a series of deaths, losses, and dangerous situations.
Grainier attempts to be hopeful even after one particularly upsetting loss. However, images keep coming back that awaken him at night and, in at least one scene, lead to what appears to be a hallucination regarding a missing family member. Grainier goes through a lot of waiting for his wishes to be answered but he becomes increasingly left alone in his cabin.
None of these plot developments are poorly done by any means. It just doesn’t add up to much.
Edgerton has some emotional scenes as Grainier and is generally convincing as a man who ages through some tough times. The rest of the cast is given limited time on screen. William H. Macy perhaps stretches the most as the old logger with a sense of spirituality that has some positive effect on Grainier. He’s in the film for much too brief a time though. Kerry Condon (Oscar-nominated for The Banshees of Inisherin) turns up as a widow who has taken a job in a lookout post high above the beautiful Idaho landscape. She’s another character that deserves more expansion and screen time. Like Macy, Condon is very good in the role but isn’t given enough room for development.
The soundtrack of the film is filled with a voice over narration by Will Patton along with the sounds and verbal memories of Grainier. As such, there are a lot of flashbacks of the character’s better days before he finds himself in a place of extreme solitude. All of this makes for a reflective portrait of Grainier but not enough to make the experience watching it as terribly interesting.
The film is a disappointment after so many better and more emotionally effective independent films released earlier this year. Although I may be in the minority on this one.
Train Dreams streams on Netflix beginning today.