Train Dreams Review (2025 BFI London Film Festival)

I let out a huge sigh as the credits rolled for Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams, one full of the contentment that comes from a deeply satisfying cinematic experience. And, yes, there was a touch of relief that the reputation the film had earned on this year’s festival circuit had not been misplaced. Tucked away in the London Film Festival brochure, its tone is so modest that it’s almost too easy to overlook what is one of this year’s hidden gems. The word, however, is spreading that this story of a quiet man set against the lush backdrop of the Pacific Northwest is a masterful combination of spectacle and subtlety.

The quiet man in question is Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), whose default setting is solitude: he’s awkward in company, says little but thinks much more. He’s encouraged out of his shell by the love of Gladys (Felicity Jones), and the warmth of their romance and marriage is idyllic, only slightly tarnished by his frequent absences earning money as a logger. It’s labour that takes him far away, working with railroad construction teams, making the occasional friend, but feeling more at home immersed in the landscape than with his fellow workers. As a family man, his future is mapped out, but life has other plans for him and, alone once more, he has to come to terms with the solitude imposed on him, something that no longer comes so easily.

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Grainier wasn’t a real person, but, between them, Bentley – who also co-wrote the screenplay – and Edgerton have created a character of such intricacy and depth that he feels all too real, as well as representing all those anonymous masses who worked to create modern America. He’s our guide through not just his own lifetime, but a landscape being transformed into a nation in around 30 years, starting with the early 20^th century, which has hardly escaped from the Old West. It’s a gift of a role for Edgerton, who is never better than when he has the bare minimum of dialogue to work with – his performance as Richard in 2017’s Loving paves the way for this one – and his frequent low grunts frequently do his talking, often more expressively than any words.

As Train Dreams navigates us through the 30s to the 60s, time almost seems to stand still, allowing our eyes to feast on the wonders of the tree-covered slopes and concentrate on the lives in front of us. But there are moments when the results of all the sweaty labour invested in changing and developing the country signpost the relentless passage of the years. The vehicles speeding over the bridge running parallel to the railway are never the same twice, and on the few occasions when Grainier travels by train, the carriages and the seats, especially, are always different. Yet, while everything around him moves forward, Grainier himself is the constant, despite everything that life gives him and takes away. And his sense of being at one with his surroundings never leaves, even when he’s at his lowest: alone in a fire-ravaged wilderness, he watches a bear lumbering past. Their eyes meet, the animal moves on, and both know they’re in the same boat.

With its emotions and themes, the shadow of Terrence Malick is never far away, but Bentley’s writing and direction have a more straightforward, accessible style. As the film lands in London, it’s already crept into early awards conversations, especially when it comes to Edgerton and William H Macy, who plays his one real friend, a philosophical dynamite specialist whose skills aren’t all they should be. But its visuals should be mentioned in the same breath: cinematographer Adolpho Veloso captures the broad sweeps and fine details so beautifully that the film’s cinema release before it arrives on Netflix is totally essential. Train Dreams belongs on the big screen, pure and simple.

★★★★

Screening at the London Film Festival on October 12th and 13th / In cinemas from November 7^th and on Netflix from November 21st / Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, William H Macy, Kerry Condon, Nathanial Arcand / Dir: Clint Bentley / Netflix

About the Author

Freda Cooper

Editor

Freda is a Senior Writer at The People's Movies. A lifelong movie fan and a film critic for over ten years, Freda’s natural habitat is the darkened rooms frequented by fellow cineastes. She can also be found asking questions of some of the biggest names in the business – from Cate Blanchett to Daniel Craig or Mike Leigh to Pete Docter – or crafting reviews for a number of sites and publications, including The People’s Movies. And listeners to BBC Local Radio can catch her views on the latest releases. She always – and probably always will – cite The Third Man as her favourite film of all time. Her top ten? That’s a moveable feast …..

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