The sprawling forests of 1900s Idaho provide the majestic, unforgiving backdrop for Train Dreams, a critically acclaimed new film that is quietly emerging as a dark horse in the upcoming awards season. Starring Joel Edgerton and directed by Clint Bentley, this poignant drama tells the story of Robert Grainier, a stoic lumberjack whose life is shaped by tragedy and the raw power of the American wilderness.
The Uphill Battle to Bring a Quiet Story to Screen
Getting this nuanced project off the ground was no easy feat. Edgerton and Bentley have revealed that pitching the film to studio bosses was an uphill struggle met with trepidation. The actor admits that the premise was a hard sell, summarising the pitch as: "Well, it’s a movie about a guy who’s not really making choices for himself. He’s kind of pushed around by life."
Bentley concurred, noting the protagonist's lack of traditional heroism and the film's subtle supernatural elements. "It’s a spiritual movie," Edgerton added. "You have to be patient." The directors often faced polite rejections, with executives finding the concept "lovely" but ultimately passing on the project. Their perseverance, however, has paid off, resulting in a film now tipped for Oscar recognition.
Personal Connections and the Weight of Fatherhood
For Edgerton, the appeal of Denis Johnson's 2011 novella deepened profoundly after he became a father. Having recently welcomed twins with his partner, journalist Christine Centenara, he found himself more vulnerable to the story's central tragedy. "I don’t have the tragedy of Robert inside me, but I’ve imagined it," Edgerton shared. "As soon as you become a father you imagine it and it’s terrifying."
He recalled a personal scare during the pregnancy, which left a permanent "pit in my stomach." This personal resonance informed his portrayal of Grainier, a man increasingly isolated from his wife and daughter, lamenting, "I feel like I’m missing her whole life."
For director Clint Bentley, the film's themes of absence and itinerant work struck a personal chord, mirroring his own life and that of his father, a journeyman jockey. Bentley's previous film, Jockey (2021), was semi-autobiographical, and Train Dreams continues this exploration. "Both Jockey and Train Dreams are about a man who’s away from his family," he explained, acknowledging the difficulty of reconciling his love for his Texas-based family with his passion for life on the road, even confessing, "I’d be happy living in Motel 6s for the rest of my life."
The Art of Silence and Collaborative Filmmaking
Edgerton delivers a masterclass in minimalism as the taciturn Grainier, a performance he links to his role as Richard Loving in Jeff Nichols' 2016 drama Loving. He recalled Nichols' unusual direction: "'I want to understand you less.' That was a big help." This approach is crucial for a character who is largely nonverbal, forcing the actor to communicate through presence alone.
This experience informs his views on the director-actor relationship. Edgerton expressed concern about a trend in Hollywood where directors are too intimidated to guide high-profile actors. "The director should always be the head of the household," he asserted. "I worry that some directors feel they’re not allowed to talk to their actors... what’s the point of being a director if you don’t talk to your actors?"
Despite the challenges of its creation, Train Dreams is now garnering rave reviews, with veteran director Paul Schrader praising it as "a reverie" designed to envelop audiences. In an age of increasing digital fabrication, Edgerton sees the film's tangible, human-made quality as its greatest strength. "The aliveness of it all – the realness of it all – is preserved," he said, expressing a hope that audiences will always value human craftsmanship over AI-generated content, even as he pondered a future where we may not recognise "the last analogue movie" until it has passed.
