Adolpho Veloso’s cinematography is breathtaking, using soft natural light for quiet, misty scenes of nature as well as capturing the abject terror from the middle of a raging forest fire. Interiors are dimly lit by lanterns or fireplaces. The images evoke a hazy, dreamlike quality, as if from a memory recounted later in life.
While the visuals of Train Dreams are stunning, and the conceptual foundation is thoughtful, they exist to frame the velvet hammer emotional impact of the performances, all of which are world-class. Even the smaller roles hit with the power of a locomotive pounding through a quiet forest. Jones, Macy, and Condon are all electric in their presence. None of these actors gets enough screen time, leaving the viewer wanting more from their characters.
Train Dreams. (Featured) Joel Edgerton as Robert Grainier in Train Dreams. Cr. BBP Train Dreams. LLC. © 2025.
“…[Edgerton] fills up the space quietly, but fiercely, in this tour de force showcase of talent and skill.”
The heavy lifting, of course, is done by Edgerton, who fills up the space quietly, but fiercely, in this tour de force showcase of talent and skill. His character is soft-spoken and understated, but he delivers Grainier with comprehensive physicality, acting with his body and eyes as much as with spoken dialogue. He is a fine, underrated actor who has never found the exact role to exhibit the full range of his talent until now. Train Dreams becomes his stage for the achievement of a lifetime (so far).
As the credits roll, we are played out by the incomparable Nick Cave, performing a song he wrote for the film. Train Dreams could be thought of as Forest Gump in the trees, as it similarly tracks a man’s lifetime against the swiftly changing world of his era of the early 1900s. We live with him through joys and pains, marvelling at the beautiful, terrible power of life. Even death is seen as a crucial thread in that great tapestry. The film is a monumental achievement, rolling in like distant thunder and lightning seen through the treeline.
Learn more at the official Train Dreams website.
"…a monumental achievement..."
