Clint Bentley’s contemplative rodeo drama Jockey established a natural realism that led to a standout performance by Clifton Collns Jr. It can be seen again in the Bentley-scripted prison drama Sing Sing, allowing Colman Domingo to deliver his second Oscar-nominated performance in a row. That same authenticity and immersion can be felt in Train Dreams, and like Bentley’s previous films it offers a showcase turn for its star, Joel Edgerton, as an Idaho logger grappling with a changing world and his place in it in the early 20th-century.
A soulful, thoughtful Edgerton plays Robert Grainier in Bentley’s adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novel. Grainier is an ordinary man, trying to keep his head down while the world plots furiously against him. Beginning in 1917 Idaho, Robert, who never knew his parents and has been alone as long as he can remember, works as a day laborer before finding steady but dangerous work as part of logging crews. It’s there that he meets people from all across the country and beyond; rough ‘n tumble working class stiffs who don’t mind taking out their aggression on the immigrants in their midst. As a child, Robert witnessed the casual violence of the forced deportation of the Chinese. As an adult, the random murder of a Chinese co-worker would come to haunt him for the rest of his life.
Robert comes to believe that doom, some kind of tragedy, is following him. He meets all sorts of people on his journeys, whether feeding the industrial boom’s need for lumber or hammering away on the railroad. An old, superstitious explosive expert Arn Peeples (William H. Macy) is one of a few who make a considerable impression. Arn knows the dangers of these woods, where a fallen branch or errant timber can snuff a man’s life in an instant.
It’s not all bad, though. Robert’s life takes an upward swing when he meets Gladys (Felicity Jones), who sweeps him off his feet. Everyone should have a love as pure and joyful as these two. In true Malick-ian fashion, nature and love are heavily romanticized and wind-swept, with Robert and Gladys building their life together in the frontier. They build a cabin, a small farm, and have a daughter, Kate, while dealing with his frequent absences from home to work. Every time he returns, his daughter has grown up a little bit more, and he’s missing it. He fears that one of these logging seasons will end badly for him. He has no idea how right he is.
The amount of calamity in Robert’s life can become tough to bear. He’s such a quiet, reserved soul that to see him endure so much pain is difficult. Much of the film is reflective, zen-like, as Robert sees the world evolving, usually for the worse for someone like himself. Bentley, working with his Sing Sing and Jockey partner Greg Kwedar, becomes a little too preoccupied with the stillness of Robert’s day-to-day. While his life is always compelling, it can also get a bit repetitive and saccharine. When Kerry Condon arrives as Claire, a ranger in the newly-created U.S. Forest Service, it’s a welcome breath of fresh air that the film could’ve used more of.
Train Dreams is small in scope but deeply resonant. Robert never does anything profound in all of his days. His life is measured in the people he’s loved, the friends he makes, the trees he’s chopped, the animals he’s rescued, and so much more. It all adds up to a life well-lived that will be remembered, just as Train Dreams will linger long in the memory.
