'Train Dreams': Everything To Know

In 2011, writer Denis Johnson published a novella, Train Dreams. Set in the early 1900s, it tells the story of a railroad laborer and the ups and downs of his life journey. It’s a story that caught Hollywood’s eye, as a film adaptation is coming to Netflix soon.

Clint Bentley is on board, directing his second feature film following 2021’s Jockey. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Greg Kwedar, reuniting with his Jockey and Sing Sing collaborator (they earned an Oscar nomination for the latter screenplay).

Ahead of the movie’s release, keep reading for everything you need to know before it comes to streaming.

Plot

An official description reads, “Based on Denis Johnson’s beloved novella, Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier, a logger and railroad worker who leads a life of unexpected depth and beauty in the rapidly-changing America of the early 20th Century.”

Joel Edgerton said of working on the film:

“I had an interesting history with the novella. It was gifted to me on the tail end of another film that I’d worked on and I remember reading it and being similarly taken with the book enough to enquire about the rights myself, only to realize, like most things, somebody already has the rights. But the filmmaker part of me was really curious about this being made into a film. So when these guys contacted me, it felt like some kind of strange kismet or fate. I remember thinking, ‘Does somebody know the inside of my brain enough to know that I was obsessed with this book?’ It felt so awesome and strange that they were asking me to do that… I’m more comfortable going to set in wilderness than I am in an office. And I think, knowing myself well enough as an actor by now, there is a certain aspect to me that I think really suits the character in this film.”

Cast

The cast is led by Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Clifton Collins Jr., Kerry Condon, William H. Macy, and Paul Schneider. Will Patton also voices the narrator, a fitting choice considering he read the audiobook of the original novella.

Bentley described the most memorable scene to shoot, saying, “I think it would have to be the first scene we shot. We were filming in a beautiful cabin we had built on location in eastern Washington, and Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones were just starting to bring their characters to life. What was scripted as a simple dialogue-free moment naturally grew into a full scene, and suddenly the approach we were all trying to make work–blending scripted scenes with organically found moments — seemed not only possible, but that it might yield something truly beautiful.”

Music

The film features an original score from The National’s Bryce Dessner. The soundtrack also includes “Train Dreams,” an original song by Dessner and Nick Cave.

Bentley previously said of Dessner’s score:

“Bryce is such an open and generous artist. This is our second film together and with Train Dreams, there was a lot of back and forth throughout the edit as he sent over different ideas and threads he was working on based on the footage and the script. It really helped shape the rhythm and the feeling of the film and lifted it to a whole new place. His music is transcendent.”