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With: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Clifton Collins Jr., Kerry Condon, William H. Macy, Paul Schneider, John Diehl, Alfred Hsing, Nathaniel Arcand, Johnny Arnoux, John Patrick Lowrie, Will Patton (narrator)
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Written by: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, based on a novella by Denis Johnson
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Directed by: Clint Bentley
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some violence and sexuality
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Running Time: 102
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Date: 11/07/2025
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By Jeffrey M. Anderson
Clint Bentley's Train Dreams is based on a 2011 novella by the late, great cult writer Denis Johnson, whose best known book, the story collection Jesus' Son, was adapted into a movie of the same name in 2000. Bentley has paid tribute to the earlier film by casting one of its actors, Will Patton, as the narrator for this film, and it's an inspired choice, as Johnson's prose comes to life. Joel Edgerton stars as Robert Grainier, a logger who falls in love with Gladys (Felicity Jones) and builds a cabin with her. But work takes him away from her, and their soon-to-be-born child, for months at a time. On one job, he helplessly witnesses a Chinese working being thrown to his death, and the incident continues to haunt him. He drifts from camp to camp, meeting new people, including explosives expert Arn Peeples (an extraordinary William H. Macy), saving money to come home to his family and his quickly-growing daughter. Robert lives to the ripe old age of 80, experiencing tragedy, friendship, and life itself. It's an extraordinary movie about an ordinary man, knowing how to find beautiful in the rhythms of life. Bentley, who co-wrote last year's underrated Sing Sing, adopts a lyrical style that sometimes recalls Malick, but he doesn't copy Malick's mannerisms. This is an organic, poetic approach, worthy of its source material.
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