Grandious ‘Train Dreams’ looks better than it is
Much praise has been heaped upon Clint Bentley’s adaptation of Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella, “Train Dreams,” but I’m at a loss to understand why. Slow and ponderous, it drags and drags as its everyman protagonist endeavors to make sense of life’s tragedies and triumphs. His conclusion? Who we are is a product of the places we’ve seen and the people we’ve met.
The movie treats this as some grand revelation and insists on doing it with unchecked pretentiousness. What’s meant to be epic and grand is merely a slow and ponderous take on a stoic logger/railway man bearing witness to America’s climb from an agrarian-based economy in the 19-teens to a space-age juggernaut in the early 1960s. Those 50-odd years usher in radical change that forces Joel Edgerton’s Robert Grainier to realize his insignificance in the world order.
That’s the deeper meaning Bentley and his writing partner, Greg Kwedar, seek to convey in the follow-up to their Oscar-nominated screenplay for 2024’s marvelous “Sing Sing.” But what’s likely to resonate is the personal toll inflicted upon a man whose entire life has been nothing but a series of disappointments. Even his brief flirtation with joy, in which he marries his great love, Gladys (Felicity Jones), and has a child, is swiftly taken from him.
It’s sad, to be sure, but who wants to lay witness to our man of perpetual sorrow for 90-plus minutes? Granted, Edgerton’s portrayal is fantastic, as is the gorgeous Great Northwest scenery eloquently captured by Bentley’s DP, Aolpho Veloso. But you can only absorb so much before repetition and boredom settle in. For me, that came much too quickly.
Nothing about it feels organic or real, particularly the cheesy narration by Will Patton. The idea, I suppose, was to replicate the great films of Terrance Malick. Most notably, “Days of Heaven” and “The Tree of Life,” the work with which “Train Dreams” most closely aligns. There are no dinosaurs or Sean Penn, but there are many of the same big ideas and even bigger questions being pondered, albeit to a much lesser effect.
It’s also slavishly episodic in structure, as a parade of men, women and critters enter Robert’s life as fast as they exit, including Gladys and their baby girl, Katie. For long periods, Robert must reluctantly leave them to travel hundreds of miles in search of work building railroads. It’s a dangerous vocation, and Robert has a long list of friends lost to workplace mishaps, from causes both natural and man-made.
Chief among them is a Chinese laborer (Alfred Hsing) Robert is convinced placed a hex on him. As proof, he cites the mounting misfortune befalling him. He also swears he’s been visited by the man’s ghost on more than a few occasions. Whether or not Robert is truly cursed is open to debate, but he certainly contributes to his own demise through self-fulfilling prophecies.
Only once does the film come close to resonating. And that is late in the picture when Robert befriends the new forest ranger, a kindly widow (“F1’s” Kerry Condon), whom he views as a kindred spirit. They talk about how the beauty of the trees, the very ones Robert used to fell, stands in direct contrast to the ugliness and cruelty of fate. I was riveted and wished the entire picture had been just about them and their platonic relationship.
No dice. Bentley would rather we spend the time in the presence of a mopey self-described “hermit.” A good time will definitely not be had by all, unless you enjoy wallowing in the misery of sadsacks like Robert, a passive passenger aboard a slow train to nowhere..
Train Dreams
Rated: PG-13 for violence and some sexuality
Cast: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, William H. Macy and Kerry Condon.
Director: Clint Bentley
Writers: Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar
Runtime: 103 minutes
Where: Currently in theaters (limited) before debuting on Netflix on Nov. 21
Grade: C
