Train Dreams: A Review

TRAIN DREAMS

Dreams come and go speeding through one man's life in Train Dreams. Visually arresting, Train Dreams may try some viewers' patience with its poetic, lyrical manner. However, Train Dreams is worth the effort if one has that patience.

Told in voiceover by an unnamed narrator (Will Patton), we learn the life story of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton). Robert has no past as he was orphaned early in life. He arrives in the Pacific Northwest on presumably an orphan train. Robert wanders through life until he meets Glady Olding (Felicity Jones). He is immediately smitten with her as she is with him.

They marry and soon have a daughter, Katie. Robert travels far for whatever work he can find. He lays track for the trains. He is a lumberjack. He is also haunted by a strange incident while building a bridge over a gorge. For reasons never explained, a couple of the men grab a Chinese laborer and toss him over the almost complete bridge to his death. Robert is literally haunted by the man, seeing him appear randomly.

As time goes on, Robert finds joy in Gladys and Katie. He yearns to spend more time together and work closer to home. He pretty much keeps to himself while working in the forest. Robert does bond with the wise Arn Peeples (William H. Macy), an old hand at logging who is seen as eccentric by the younger men. A freak accident kills Arn, which pushes Robert to stay put with his family.

Their plans are consumed by fire. This forest fire devastates Robert beyond measure. He bears his great personal losses with stoicism. Now as a cart hauler for the local community, Robert takes Clare Thompson (Kerry Condon) to her new station at the forest's edge. She is with the newly formed Forest Service and has a similar outlook to Robert's. Robert may chuckle at being the local hermit, but there is truth to that. As the decades go by, what will be the end of Robert Grainier?

Train Dreams is a little over an hour and a half. I suspect that the film's very steady, stately pace will drive some viewers bonkers. That sense of frustration will also probably come from Patton's narration. He fills in a lot of information about Robert Grainier that sometimes comes across as overbearing. I struggled to remember where I saw and heard a similar conceit. I now remember. It was in The Life of Chuck. Both films have much in common. They attempt to make a relatively simple life something of an epic. They rely heavily on voiceover. They attempt to speak on the importance of even the most mundane life. They are both adaptations of short works (in Train Dreams' case, Denis Johnson's novella).

Unlike The Life of Chuck, I found that director/cowriter Clint Bentley (adapting Johnson's work with Greg Kwedar) opted to not load the voiceover to a maddening degree. I would not call it sparse. I would call it less intrusive. I also would say that it was a bit overdone in terms of what was being said. 

Train Dreams is a very quiet film. It is slow, but not in a bad way. It does have moments of action, like the forest fire that consumed Robert's life. However, for the most part even what could have been shocking moments are shown as quite still. There is when a random black man appears and ends up killing a logger who talked endlessly about Jesus. The killer informs the surprisingly passive loggers that the man they knew as Apostle Bob was really Buckskin Sam, an outlaw who had killed the killer's brother. This scene was shot with one long master shot, which I thought a curious choice. 

Arn's death was a bit odd. It had both voiceover and a surprisingly comic manner despite the filmmaker's best intentions. Again, while I see what Train Dreams was going for, it did not mean that it always worked. 

What did work in the film, worked well. Adolpho Beloso's cinematography is almost sinful in its luxurious and lush look. Even the mass forest fire looks beautiful. Train Dreams fits the title, creating this visually splendid film that makes it almost like a series of painting.

The film is also quite well-acted. Joel Edgerton has had his share of misses. In Train Dreams, he has a strong performance. His Robert's stoic manner is what makes the story work. He is able to have moments of drama, such as when he imagines Katie returning. However, Edgerton knows that Robert is an internal man, one who keeps things within himself. A standout moment is when he is with Condon in a smaller but no less effective performance. As he talks to Claire about his loss, we see Robert as quiet and soft. This is a man who keeps so much within himself. However, this scene is devoid of big, dramatic moments. He does not cry nor break down in tears. Instead, Edgerton stays true to the character. Robert is a man who observes and feels but rarely is overwhelmed by his feelings.

As stated, Kerry Condon also does well as Claire, the impatient but caring Forest Service ranger. "The dead tree is as important as a living one", she tells Robert. The subtext I think is clear. In his role, William H. Macy gives Arn a weary acceptance of life. It is almost as if he is what Robert might become. 

Train Dreams does have a dreamlike quality to it. That might make some viewers grew impatient. However, when one sees it, I think it might be best to accept the film's placid manner than to fight it. See it for the beautiful visuals, which is one of its best qualities. 

DECISION: C+