Train Dreams Movie Review (2025)
A quiet film about one man’s life working on the railroad and creating a family, Train Dreams is soft and poetic with a phenomenal performance by Joel Edgerton.
I have been keeping a close eye on Joel Edgerton since he starred in Kinky Boots in 2005. He is a fascinating actor who is able to nail characters who are generally unseen or inconspicuous, but are suddenly the focus of a story. He inhabits their subtleties and confusion beautifully, and this film is just another example of his talent.
Train Dreams is about the 80 years of Robert Grainier’s life. A logger and railroad worker who was orphaned as a child, Robert’s existence is a simple one, with daily physical labor, surrounded by men that he doesn’t know. One day, at a church service that he’s never attended before, a local young woman, Gladys, catches his eye. They spend their days together and ultimately marry. From there, you learn about the rest of Robert’s journey.
This movie doesn’t tell a grand story, which is the point. It focuses on a singular man who works hard, does what he knows, loves his wife and child, and events take place around him. Life changes, people die, technology advances, and, while you used to be the young guy who understood how things worked, you age into the older man watching society build up around you.
Out of all of the architecture of this film, the cinematography is the most striking. The use of the camera to pull out or into shots, the pictures created on the screen, and the use of colors, which are mostly earthy green, blues, and browns, is breathtaking. You also have pops of colors like yellow and purple on Gladys and the baby, which are reminiscent of flowers growing inside of Robert’s rugged, nature-like life.
There are spectacular performances by Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, and William H. Macy, with a lovely narration by Will Patton. In keeping with the subtle tone of the film, each of the actors is understated with great depth. You wonder about their histories and what they’ve seen to create the people that they are now, but you only get the insights into Robert.
About halfway into Train Dreams, I realized that it reminded me of The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. Benjamin Button had a much grander life than Robert, but each is narrated and covers an entire existence, and both feel like a bit of a bedtime story.
Based on a book of the same name, Train Dreams is like visual poetry. It is not a film that will grab your attention, it is too delicate for that. But it will grow on you as you walk with Robert in his shoes.
Runtime: 103 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG-13
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Available: Free on Netflix
