Few movies make you feel as if you’re breathing fresh air, but Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams manages to do precisely that and so much more. The life of a tree can be measured by its rings. Cut a tree down and you can run your hands over the years of its existence, even get an understanding of the slow but relentless passage of time. Measuring a person’s life is not so different. It, too, is composed of layers; it, too, is an accumulation of time and experience that enables a person to grow and expand in ways that may not always be easy to see from the outside. Today, Netflix is proud to present a trailer for Train Dreams, which will be available in select theaters starting November 7 and streaming on Netflix starting November 21.
In Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams, adapted by Bentley and Greg Kwedar from the novella by Denis Johnson, the existence being measured belongs to Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), whose life unfolds during an era of unprecedented change in early 20th-century America. Orphaned at a young age, Robert grows into adulthood among the towering forests of the Pacific Northwest, where he works as a logger and helps expand the nation’s railroad empire alongside men as unforgettable as the landscapes they inhabit. After a tender courtship, he marries Gladys (Felicity Jones) and they build a home together, though his work often takes him far from her and their young daughter. When his life takes an unexpected turn, Robert finds beauty, brutality, and newfound meaning for the forests and trees he’s felled.
“We’re used to watching characters on screen who are full of action,” Edgerton told Tudum about his character. “They’re creating their own destiny, and they’re pushing against obstacles. They’re fighting adversity, or they’re fighting adversaries.”
“I think there’s a real relatable engine to this movie,” Edgerton adds. “Robert is absorbing the blows of the world, and moving in the streams and avenues that he’s allowed to move in, based on the life that he’s been given and the upbringing he had. And there’s a real potency to the quiet, ordinary life that most of us live.”
In his Sundance review, JoBlo’s Chris Bumbray raved about Train Dreams, saying, “It’s heartening to know that Train Dreams left Sundance with such a great distribution deal, as it’s among the best films I saw at the fest. It’s the kind of movie that stays with you long after you see it and hopefully will get the kind of build-up it deserves, as it will likely rank among the best films of the year when all is said and done.”
What do you think about Netflix‘s trailer for Train Dreams? Will you check the movie out in theaters or at home? Let us know in the comments section below.
