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Summary 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. Based on Denis Johnson’s novella.
Directed By: Clint Bentley
Written By: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Denis Johnson
Train Dreams
7.7
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Summary 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. Based on Denis Johnson’s novella.
Directed By: Clint Bentley
Written By: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Denis Johnson
Where to Watch
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 42 Critic Reviews
88
93% Positive
39 Reviews
39 Reviews
7% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 42 Critic Reviews
88
93% Positive
39 Reviews
39 Reviews
7% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Nov 20, 2025
The film acknowledges the bones of Johnson’s story—a very thin narrative in terms of things actually happening, though the things that happen are enormous. The execution is nevertheless lush, sometimes startlingly beautiful, and painterly and evocative of Johnson’s elegiac theme about a bygone America. The Old World is never old until it’s gone, but in Train Dreams one feels it passing.
Jan 31, 2025
In telling the seemingly unremarkable life story of one ordinary man, Clint Bentley’s trancelike film, based on Denis Johnson’s acclaimed 2012 novella, ruminates on the interconnectedness of all things, but it wears its metaphysics lightly.
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 104 User Ratings
7.7
79% Positive
82 Ratings
82 Ratings
14% Mixed
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
7% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 104 User Ratings
7.7
79% Positive
82 Ratings
82 Ratings
14% Mixed
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
7% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
Nov 30, 2025
Despite its slow pace and tranquil music, the story of a railway worker has something that captivates us and makes us empathise with the main character. Of course, the final act leaves you feeling as if you have lost a friend.
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Nov 29, 2025
The film portrays good man who comes across lifes tragedies and tries to find a meaning in them. Deeply touching, great acting by Joel Edgerton and it deserves recognition.
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Nov 13, 2025
The paradox of Train Dreams is that we are looking at a vanishing way of life that, at the same time, has a startling immediacy. That immediacy is more than a matter of careful observation. In its widest sense, the movie is asking what makes life worth living.
Jan 29, 2025
A Western epic of breathtaking visual splendor and formidable lyrical cinematic poetry, it’s a work containing all the wondrous, devastating layers of an entire life, which it explores with a gentle grace without hiding from the agony that comes with it.
Jan 29, 2025
With an economy of story elements and set design — where most of the movie takes place in nature’s open expanses — Bentley has crafted a plaintive and affecting film about how every moment holds value.
Jan 29, 2025
Director Clint Bentley sculpts a sentimental story whose gentle ironies and modest design have a cumulative power.
Nov 21, 2025
For all its attempted ethereal touches, Train Dreams never settles on a track that delivers one.
Nov 22, 2025
Tons of potential (beautiful visuals, great cast, interesting period), but the narrator kind of ruins things. This either needed to go full Terrence Malick – more B roll, more brooding – or more PT Anderson with a darker story and more plot / character development – but this tries to strike some sort of middle ground and fails to be good.
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Nov 27, 2025
While in our youth, as we struggled to understand the puzzling nature of life, many of us likely heard our elders say, “You’ll understand someday when you get older,” advice that we probably tucked away in good faith for future reference. But how many of us actually came upon that promised understanding when we grew into adulthood? Chances are, many of us patiently awaited the arrival of such insights only to discover that said assurance about them never panned out as hoped for. In fact, I’m willing to bet that failed expectation happened more frequently than not. And, in this sophomore feature outing from director Clint Bentley, that scenario would again seem to be the case as the film’s perpetually perplexed protagonist searches for meaning. But, considering how frequently this situation tends to occur in everyday life, for me, the key question becomes, do we really need to see a movie that depicts this kind of all-too-familiar experience, one that many of us have already gone through ourselves? This widely praised character study follows the life of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), a logger who toils in the forests of the Pacific Northwest in the early 20th Century. Having been orphaned at a young age without ever knowing his parents, he’s always sought explanations for life’s mysteries, but they generally eluded him, even on into adulthood. And, in an era when the world was changing rapidly on many fronts, he longed for answers, though they never materialized, leaving him constantly wondering about his existence, particularly when he witnesses unexplained injustices, tragedies and personal setbacks. While it’s true that many of us can empathize with his circumstances, we nevertheless also can’t help but ask, “Well, who hasn’t gone through that?” (This isn’t exactly new ground.) In that sense, then, the film focuses on the yearning of a lost soul constantly striving for some grand revelation that never arrives, and it tries to elevate this notion to the level of something that’s never been conceived of before. Moreover, to emphasize the nobility of this point, the picture dresses it up with allegedly lofty voice-over observations that sound profound but that, frankly, don’t add much that’s meaningful or even interesting. The filmmaker also tries to cover these shortcomings with gorgeous cinematography and a capable lead performance by Edgerton (though, considering the admittedly less-than-demanding character of the role, that’s not exactly saying much). Perhaps the picture’s strongest (and most underrated) asset is its cast of colorful supporting players, most notably William H. Macy and Kerry Condon, though, regrettably, their screen time is somewhat limited. Given the accolades that have been generously showered on this offering, I find it disappointing that it fails to live up to the hype, both in terms of its cinematic attributes and, more importantly, the depth of its content. Maybe I’ll understand it better when I get older. But, given that there’s not much to understand in the first place, I sincerely doubt it.
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Production Company
- Black Bear
- Kamala Films
Release Date Nov 7, 2025
Duration 1 h 42 m
Rating PG-13
Genres
Awards
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 4 Nominations
Astra Film Awards
• 4 Nominations
Gotham Awards
• 2 Nominations
