From the writers of ‘Sing Sing’, Clint Bentley and Greg Kedar, Train Dreams provides a strong follow-up, that shares a highly intimate, raw, and at points meditative feel.
Following Joel Grainer, a logger in the Pacific Northwest, the story is set during and post WW1 in a period of technological revolution and change. Forced to go out and work away from his wife and daughter, Granier is exposed to an often-hospitable environment where pain, in varying forms, is never far.
After a wildfire rips through the wilderness, Grainer is left with little but guilt and grief, struggling to understand his role in the world left behind.
‘Train Deams’ is a film that if you were just told a base synopsis of its events, you could easily misinterpret it for a dramatic thriller. Death by gunshot, tree branch, heart condition, being flung off a bridge, and many other methods, the true essence of the story is far from this.
That’s not to say the tale lacks brutality – the opposite is true.
This is achieved by some picture perfect composition and colorizing, that makes the wilderness backdrop sing, notably aided by a subtle whimsical and pure score from Bryce Dessner, cumulatively forming an organic base that invites the viewer in.
Music isn’t the only audio present that delights however, with some masterful sound design, who new trees could sound so good? However unfortunately your ears won’t be entirely pleased as the film utilises some occasional narration – something which leaves me with mixed feelings.
The narration is strong when it acts as a storyteller, giving us information, and background details, that helps us better understand Grainer and his situation. However, at points it oversteps the mark – babying the audience – providing description of Grainer’s actual feelings and character evolution, as if it hasn’t spent much of the film slowly and meticulously conveying with far more maturity and depth on screen.
Besides, there’s no need for over-explanation when the dialog here is so fantastic. A dream for a hope-core video editors, fellow logger Arn delivers a handful of precious quotes that constantly provide a sense of momentum to the story, ensuring that the audience is concentrated on the message it portrays.
This is one of the many ways that the film achieves a close-up feeling with the story, that asks for reflection from the audience to understand and consider the point to life and the emotions that come with it – good and bad.
The film succeeds in other areas too, with excellent performances all round from a cast including Joel Edgerton as Grainer, supported by Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy. Though it does not feature them in an ensemble, rather as unique figures that pop up around the life of Grainer, as the film focuses on one’s understanding of life, using grainers as a conduit for the viewer to consider its ideas.
The first half of the film manages to hit a sweet spot, delivering a strong mix of moments that allow for progression, yet also moments to breathe. However, the film is let down by its second half which takes an overly slow approach, that can feel like a stall in the road. While this is arguably strong for conveying points of the story, it comes across a little jarring when the ending comes and goes so fast. While very touching it feels a tad misplaced or poorly paced, leading to the final ideas lacking a momentum aided punch.
Despite this, its important to say – the film is great. Truly, it feels freshly original, and has a huge heart, a great one to watch in these winter evenings.
Give it your full attention and you’ll not regret it, not because you’ll miss details, but you’ll miss the reflection, the true aim of the film.
Train Dreams is available to stream on Netflix.
Verdict:
Hi, I’m Neil Singer, Culture Editor and second year student, studying media and journalism, and social policy. In my spare time I play for Strathclyde Lacrosse and watch a lot of films. If your reading this then that probably means you’ve looked at my article, so thankyou! You must be one very cool individual.
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