Film Review: Train Dreams

Welcome back to the blog readers. As you know, I am currently on my "Best Picture Expedition" where I strive to watch all ten films nominated for Best Picture. I am more than halfway through the field now, and I am working full steam ahead to get the last four taken care of. With this film being regarded as one of the weaker nominees, I went into it with the full confidence that I would like it. Would I be proven right, or would I be disappointed? Stick around to find out.

Train Dreams was directed by Clint Bentley from a screenplay by Bentley and Greg Kwedar, based on the 2011 novella Train Dreams by Denis Johnson. The film stars Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Nathaniel Arcand, Clifton Collins Jr., John Diehl, Paul Schneider, Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy. The film chronicles the life of Robert Grainier, who lives and works in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, as he helps to create a new world at the turn of the 20th century.

As I mentioned in my introductory paragraph, this is considered one of the weaker Best Picture nominees, but I was confident that I was going to enjoy the film based on who was in it. I love my boy Uncle Owen and William H. Macy, so I went in hoping for the best. Turns out, this was a good film that is carried by a career-best performance from Edgerton and beautiful cinematography. I also loved the music of the film, but I do think it was a bit long.

I want to talk about the performance of Joel Edgerton. Edgerton has been one of the mainstays of Hollywood over the last few decades, appearing in certain films such as Warrior (2011), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), The Great Gatsby (2013), Black Mass (2015), and The Green Knight (2021), but he took on his best role in this film as Robert Grainier. He brought a sense of stability and direction to the role that I found impressive indeed. I hung on every word he said, every tear he cried, and every action he took. He handled it all with grace and a rawness that I believe should have gotten him an Oscar nomination.

The next aspect of the film I want to talk about is the Oscar-nominated cinematography. The director of photography for this film is Adolpho Veloso. The 36-year-old has never shot a major film before, so seeing him get an Oscar nomination really had me intrigued over what he was able to do. And what he was able to do was masterful. From the beautiful landscapes of the Pacific Northwest to tracking shots of our characters, Veloso delivers some of the most stunning work of the year. And his shot of the tree being cut down and falling? Stunning.

The next aspect of the film I want to talk about has to do with the music of the film. The composer for this film is, wouldn't you know it, The National's Bryce Dessner. Two big films that he worked on were The Revenant (2015) and The Two Popes (2019), but this is the first film in which he has received an Oscar nomination for Original Song. But his score is absolutely magical for this film. He was absolutely able to capture the magic of the Pacific Northwest through instruments that never could have been imagined. And his nominated Original Song with Nick Cave? It really fits the vibe of the film.

And finally, I want to talk about the pacing of the film. The film runs a brisk runtime of 1 hour and 42 minutes, but I personally believe it feels a little too long in my estimation. I believe that there should be some scenes that were trimmed down by about 2-3 minutes, and then I really think this film could have breathed a bit better. As you know, 2025 was a big year for films having pacing issues, and I am afraid that this is yet another offender, even though I overall liked this film.

In conclusion, Train Dreams is a beautiful love letter to a forgotten time in our history that features a career-best performance from Joel Edgerton. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.