Train Dreams (dir. Clint Bentley)
By: Adam Freed
The icy defiance of the natural world cares very little about the plight of those who inhabit it. Never was this more true than during the historically significant period of time as Westward Expansion gave way to the second Industrial Revolution in which regions like the Pacific Northwest were left in desperate need of railway connectivity. Train Dreams is Director Clint Bentley’s gorgeous and naturalistic adaptation of Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella, about an early 20th Century logger named Robert Grainier. Grainier, like so many men in his field, saw the confluence of the lumber and rail industries as a necessary evil, a dependable payday despite its grueling labor and inherent dangers. His desire to provide for his wife and his newborn daughter drives Grainier farther and farther away from his young family each logging season. His impulse to remain home and his instinct to provide, run counter to one another, making it crucial for Clint Bentley and longtime production partner Greg Kwedar (Sing Sing, Jockey) to have found the perfect actor to anchor the emotional duality of their film. Enter Joel Edgerton (The King, The Great Gatsby), who offers what is unquestionably the best performance of his career. The stoicism and hushed masculinity Edgerton provides the film is worthy of Academy consideration, as the Australian actor seems to find himself amongst ancient coniferous trees.
Set against the stunning backdrop of the Cascade Range, Train Dreams also marks a career apex for gifted cinematographer Adolpho Veloso (Rodantes, Jockey) whose immaculate visual rendering of the wooded world outside Spokane, Washington captures the millennia-spanning terrain with a stunning allowance of natural light. As a result, Bentley’s film flexes an alluring ruggedness that acts as a hearty reminder of the impossibility of Grainier's desire to act as both provider and protector simultaniously. Slowly but surely, audiences witness the evolution of both a region and a man one swing of the axe at a time.
Grainier’s evolving life is enriched by the influence of the numerous supporting characters throughout Clint Bentley’s moving film. Most notable of those is Arn Peeples, a storytelling mentor or sorts, long on an aged perspective otherwise absent from Grainier’s life. Peeples is enlivened by the masterful performance of William H. Macy (Fargo, Boogie Nights). Train Dreams acts as a powerful reminder of the importance of gifted character actors even in roles that fall below the film’s marquee. There is a dose of reality that Macy provides the proceedings that Edgerton alone cannot muster. Layered atop Macy’s supporting brilliance is the inspired work of Felicity Jones (The Brutalist, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), who as Gladys Grainier captures a stoicism required to counterbalance Robert’s emotional heartache. Grainier’s quest to live the quiet life of a homesteader with his small family cuts a perilous and imperfect path through early 20th Century history. There is a mysticism present in Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams, one that, like rings of the mighty trees present deep in the forests of Washington, seem to tell the age-old story of the evolution of a man and a region.
Target Score 9/10 - Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar have once again harnessed the power of a slowly evolving story, that by its end, is sure to level audiences with a profound and memorable understanding. Train Dreams is the perfect amalgamation of naturalistic and historical storytelling, and instantly one of the year’s best films.