‘Train Dreams’ Review: Joel Edgerton Delivers His Career-Best in a Meditative and Moving Exploration of Americana

Courtesy of TIFF

*Screened at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival*

At one point in Train Dreams, a central character, Gladys (Felicity Jones in a fleeting but captivating performance) reflects on her humble homelife, commenting, “It’s all going by so fast.” One of the most consequential truths about reality is that life really does go by so quickly — seemingly with greater swiftness as the years pass — love comes and goes, the stories of our worldly journeys are gradually imprinted upon our bodies and souls.

This tremendous truth about the speed with which the universe spits you out, only to take you back just as quickly in the grand scheme of time, is one of many moving sentiments presented in Train Dreams, the latest work from director-writer duo Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar, best known for their collaborative efforts on 2023’s Sing Sing. Adapted from the novella of the same name by Denis Johnson, Train Dreams follows the life of Robert Grainier, a simple working-class man who comes to experience all the horrors and beauty of life against the backdrop of a rapidly changing America at the dawn of the 20th century.

Joel Edgerton placidly shines as Robert, the heart of Train Dreams, giving his most affecting performance since Loving, nearly a decade ago. We first meet his character circa 1917 in the ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest, where the burly thirty-year-old splits his time working as a railroad logger and a day laborer. During these early years, Robert silently witnesses an act of brutality against one of his coworkers, an instance that torments his conscience for the rest of his days.

Time moves on, and Robert’s perspectives on the world begin to develop just as rapidly as the railroads upon which he works. After an innocent courtship marked by fields of wildflowers and preparing for their future together, Robert marries the aforementioned Gladys; the two have a daughter and create a quaint homestead for their budding family. Just as the movie begins to center upon this domestic idyll, Capitalism comes calling, drawing Robert back to the logging season. Far away from his modest acre by the creek, the company of his wife and child is replaced by the motley men who make up the growing workforce as the formerly untouched region is encroached upon by the modern world. Prominent among the camaraderie of sawyers is Arn (William H. Macy), a logger from the way back who chatters more than he works, delivering some of the film’s most comedic and heart-wrenching moments.

Courtesy of TIFF

Years keep rolling by, and Robert begins to regret the time he has spent working hundreds of miles away from his family. He realizes he will never get it back, further concretized by a catastrophe that forever alters the landscape of his world in every possible way. Already a man of few words, Robert retreats inward, becoming somewhat of a “hermit in the woods” as his body and natural stamina begin to wane after years of arduous labor. Despite this gradual physical decline, his mind retains its polish, and Robert endlessly reflects on the decisions he has made and the experiences he has faced. During this period of torturous contemplation, spurred by surreal flashes in which he struggles to distinguish reality from nightmarish visions, Robert’s suffering is eased by the tactful wisdom of Claire, a newcomer to town expertly played by Kerry Condon, in another succinct but significant role. As Robert quietly lives out the end of his life, he forever ponders his place in the vast, incomprehensible world.

While Johnson’s novella employs a stream-of-consciousness that allows it to bounce around Robert’s memory, Bentley and Kwedar’s adaptation for the silver screen (narrated by Will Patton) mostly takes a conventional linear approach, tracking its central figure as he ages. Other than this structural departure, the movie’s screenplay remains quite faithful to the book, particularly in its dialogue, much of which is lifted directly from Johnson’s pages. Further aligning with the brisk 116-page novel, Train Dreams clocks in under two hours—a refreshing feat in a contemporary landscape where many films are overly long—with both works packing a remarkable emotional punch despite their trim, unassuming packaging.

At its core, Train Dreams operates as a sensitive, introspective riff on the Western genre, specifically through the underlying theme of “man versus nature,” which marks nearly every turn in Robert’s life as he navigates the passage of time. Robert’s existence is dominated by his complex relationship with Mother Nature, upon which he simultaneously relies for his income and tranquility —the only way he has ever known to survive. Yet, as he chops down more trees and sees the region slowly evolve from dirt roads to paved highways and sophisticated train lines, he sees what nature gives and takes away, finally recognizing his mortal futility on a planet that has endured far more than we could ever understand.

Courtesy of TIFF.

Even though Train Dreams is achingly lonely for long stretches, when its story stays with Robert in his darkest times, there are moments of communion between the transient men he works with that speak truthfully to the history of Westward expansion in America. His crews are made up of a hodgepodge of working-class men, ranging from Southern swindlers to marginalized Chinese immigrants, reflective of the real people who toiled to modernize the West in the decades following the Civil War. Train Dreams underscores the social and racial inequality built into such systems without ever feeling didactic, following suit with its portrayal of the dangerous, grueling work undertaken by Robert and his blue-collar coworkers.

Shot by Adolpho Veloso (who collaborated with Bentley on Jockey in 2021), Train Dreams flaunts a stunning hyperrealistic visual language that bolsters the film’s rather intimate tone. Veloso’s camera is never afraid to move with freedom, zoom in super close to Edgerton’s bearded face, or pan out to reveal the breathtaking Washington state shooting locations. In its opening moments, the movie makes a direct reference to the incredible vintage photographs of frontiersmen lounging within the gaping incisions of felled trees, then cuts to a shot with the camera mounted on a falling tree, a refreshing technique unparalleled in cinematic history. Veloso sidesteps the impulse to shoot the period work on film, a decision that, in this case, allows a more accessible invitation into Robert’s nuanced inner workings.

Ultimately, Train Dreams works as such a simple yet powerful movie thanks to Edgerton’s superb, possibly career-best performance. Evoking the essence of Robert’s character, as Johnson constructed him, Edgerton is damaged but persevering, lonely but loving, an anonymous face lost to the annals of time, yet an individual who witnesses significant transformation at a crossroads in history —an ultimate reflection of us all. Through its quiet precision, blending brilliant performances and storytelling, Train Dreams resonates with a universal power that can leave a lasting impression on any moviegoer this fall season.

4.5/5

2025 / 102 minutes / Color / USA / in English

‘Train Dreams’ world premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Netflix will theatrically distribute ‘Train Dreams’ in the United States beginning on November 7, before the movie hits the streaming platform on November 21.