Train Dreams

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on December 11, 2025.

(M) ★★★★★

Director: Clint Bentley.

Cast: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, William H. Macy, Nathaniel Arcand, Will Patton.

"We should really get around to inventing chairs, don't you think?"

Sometimes it's hard to explain what a movie's about. Train Dreams is certainly one of the harder films to sell to a prospective watcher, but it's easily one of the best films of 2025. Maybe just go with that.

But for those desperate for more info, Train Dreams is the story of one man's life - Robert Grainier (Edgerton), an orphan who grows up to be a lumberjack in the first half of the 20th century in the American north-west. 

But in a more realistic sense, it's about the violent punctuations that mark a life, and the interconnectedness of all things. It's about love and death and grief and the meaning of life. It's about the tough existence of itinerant loggers, and about men trying to make sense of their place in an everchanging world. It's about how a man comes from nothing and quietly goes about his life in his own way. It's kind of about everything, and it's beautiful.

Stunningly shot by Bentley and cinematographer Adolpho Veloso, and soulfully scored by The National's Bryce Dessner, this is an engrossing and powerful tale that lulls you, then hits you, repeatedly. Its moments of tranquility and thoughtfulness are truly lovely and wonderful, right up to the point you get steamrolled by a random horrible moment. But hey, that's life, and hey, that's kinda what makes Train Dreams so incredible and poignant.

Central to it all is Our Joel. Edgerton has always been a real talent in everything from The Great Gatsby to Animal Kingdom, but this is the best thing he's done that I've seen. His performance has its loud moments but so much of it is behind the eyes (and matched by an eloquent narration by Patton). Edgerton is ably supported by Jones, Condon and Macy in particular, but really it feels like a one-hander, so quietly engrossing is the character of Grainier, and Edgerton rises to the occasion magnificently. 

While it's hard to sell this Everyman tale to people, there is no doubt this is one of the best films of 2025, and it will stick with you long after Nick Cave's sepuchral tones ring out on the title track.