Culture
‘Train Dreams’ is a haunting frontier film and one of the year’s best
By: Gordon Briggs
Posted on:
Train Dreams follows the life of quiet laborer Robert Grainier in the early 20th-century American West. Depicting his hard work building the railroad and his happy life with his wife and daughter, the film could’ve been another story that mythologized America’s westward expansion.
However, after tragedy strikes, Robert finds himself caught between the end of one world and the beginning of another.
I feel the film is a different kind of Western. Train Dreams forgoes the genre’s usual interest in gunslingers and outlaws and tells the story of an ordinary man’s life on the frontiers of “civilization,” creating a world where it feels like man is in a hopeless war with nature itself. In telling that story, the film sports some of the best cinematography of 2025.
Cinematographer Adolpho Veloso relies heavily on available light such as daylight, fire, and candles. However, I love how they frame the characters to make them appear smaller within the expansive landscapes of the forest, highlighting their insignificance in the grand scheme of nature.
That’s another reason I loved this movie. It captures a specific sense of place.
You can feel the dirt and the rain, and almost get a sense of the temperature of this frontier. So many movies make the past look like a giant movie set, but by drawing clear inspiration from Terrence Malick (it reminded me of Days of Heaven,) Train Dreams, has a naturalistic visual style that feels tactile while feeling poetic.
Thankfully, its technical aspects don’t overwhelm its performances. Joel Edgerton is great in this movie. None of this performance feels flashy or indulgent. Instead, there’s a quiet, melancholic quality to Robert Grainier’s character. He does a lot by saying a little.
Plus, on Robert’s journey, he meets various other people who come and go. Some, like the fellow logger played by William H. Macy, offer a look into his future. Others, like the independent woman played by Kerry Condon, help him understand his place within the vastness of nature.
On a more personal note, the movie made me think about my own life: watching Robert’s journey, I couldn’t help but reflect on my past relationships, my own relationship with nature, and what the future may hold for me.
Train Dreams is currently streaming on Netflix, and I encourage you to seek it out.
Rating: ★★★★