Train Dreams
Rating: 5/5
By: Nathaniel Simpson
Clint Bentley's newest film Train Dreams, starring Joel Edgerton in perhaps his best performance yet, is a heart-wrenching gut punch, but absolutely beautiful in every single aspect. The film, which chronicles a man's life throughout the early 1900s, from being a drifter as a child to a family man that travels to work constructing the railroad, expertly shows the people and moments that live within all of us for the rest of our lives. Bentley captures this world and the characterization of Edgerton's character, Robert Grainger, perfectly, crafting a film that will easily leave an impact on you for a long time after watching it.
Going into this film, I truly wasn't sure what to expect. I had unfortunately missed the screening for it when I attended the Austin Film Festival, but I started to see the film fly on my radar recently. Therefore, the first day it dropped on Netflix, I made sure to check it out when I was able to, and boy, it surprised me. I never saw Sing Sing unfortunately, but this movie easily made me a fan of Bentley's and now makes me want to watch Sing Sing as soon as possible.
Everything about this film simply works so well. Bentley tells this story of a man who is trying to find meaning in the world around him. He believes he does find it when he marries Gladys (Felicity Jones) and they have a daughter together, but when things take a turn for the worst, he is now trying to find any sort of meaning that is left in his life. The entire movie makes the viewer question what truly is the meaning of life and why we are here, and I think this picture answers it by showing the effect other humans around us have.
Bentley does an excellent job of showcasing different people that Robert encounters throughout his life, whether it is people he meets through work or in their town. Each and every person the film highlights had some sort of impact on Robert and how he views the world, and it is done in such a beautifully meaningful way that even the smallest of characters can make the viewer feel strong emotions towards them. Every character here is incredibly important to both Robert and the viewer, so when Robert leaves or that character dies, it feels like a stab in the heart due to the effect they had on us. This movie doesn't have that much of a story and I don't think it needs to. It is concerned with showcasing the experience of the human condition, and I think Bentley hits the nail right on the head.
Edgerton gives such a haunting performance as Robert, showing a man who simply doesn't know where he fits. He is a normal person struggling to make it through this world and understand why it is important he is on this Earth, and I think it is so beautiful how he gives life to this character. What I think is so important about this character is that he is so normal. He has such complex thoughts and emotions concerning those he meets, but Edgerton portrays him as a Normal Joe. There is so much nuance in how he acts and his facial expressions that say so much. His portrayal of this character perfectly fits the expression that less is more, and I think Edgerton gives one of the best performances this year.
The rest of the performances here, which include Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy, to name a few, are all wonderful. They are only present in the film for brief periods of time, but they show the effect they had on the character of Robert and how it influences the rest of his life. These fleeting moments that he is able to spend with these people have such an effect on him and the viewer, like I mentioned, and the performers that have the challenge of making their character come off in this way in only minutes do such a wonderful job. Bentley casts incredible performers and they deliver perfectly.
I also want to point out how fantastic the cinematography from Adolpho Veloso and the score from Bryce Dessner are. This is a character-driven piece, but I don't think it would have worked as effectively without these two filmmaking aspects. Both the cinematography and the score showcase such emotion in how Robert is feeling. If he is happy and full of love, it does a wonderful job of conveying that. But during the depressing moments throughout this movie, these two aspects feel incredibly haunting and claustrophobic at times. Even when we are viewing an open forest, it feels like we are closed in and have nowhere to run. The entire film is a piece of art, and these two aspects work perfectly with the story and the characters.
Train Dreams definitely blew my expectations out of the water, and I truly didn't see myself being as moved as this movie made me. By the end, there were tears in my eyes and a new appreciation for life and the people around us. From the way the movie is able to tonally shift at the drop of a hat and make the viewer feel the same emotions that Robert is, that's a masterclass in storytelling. Bentley is proving himself to be a director to watch out for.
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