Train Dreams
2025
*****
Director: Clint Bentley
Cast: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Clifton Collins Jr., Kerry Condon, William H. Macy, Nathaniel Arcand, Alfred Hsing, Will Patton, Paul Schneider, John Diehl, Chuck Tucker, Rob Price
In the 1910s, Robert and Gladys fall in love, marry, build a home, and have a daughter — but his work as a logger and railroad labourer in the Pacific Northwest repeatedly takes him far away from home for long periods of time. Clint Bentley's hypnotic drama, adapted from Denis Johnson's 2011 novella, is a moving meditation on memory, time, guilt, loss, and solitude set in an America that is modernising fast. The film’s dreamy visuals, gentle pacing, wistful narration, and portrayal of a man’s relationship with nature clearly reflect the influence of Terrence Malick, but it remains a wonderful work in its own right. Joel Edgerton gives a terrific, understated lead performance, and William H. Macy offers great support as his co-worker.
