(Credit: Netflix)

What was your first reaction when you first heard Netflix was adapting Train Dreams? I was happy but, in all honesty, wasn’t expecting much. It is based on Denis Johnson’s novella, which is quiet and reflective, but it is not the kind of story that screams “blockbuster”.

And then when Netflix dropped the teaser a month ago, it hooked me in a way I wasn’t prepared for. Seems like the streamer is all set to prove us all wrong. This novella first came out in the year 2011 and tells the tale of a day labourer in the American West.

So the trailer doesn’t open with a dramatic twist or some heavy narration. Instead, it is Joel Edgerton as Robert Grainier, a man who looks small compared to the world around him. He is standing in the forests of the Pacific Northwest in the early 1900s, and you can see trains passing in the background. The way the camera frames him, you can tell straight away that this isn’t a story about someone changing the course of history. It’s about someone trying to hold on while history changes around him.

Director Clint Bentley has decided to lean into that ordinariness. He said the story is about a “very simple life” that still feels “deep and rich”, and that is exactly how the teaser plays.

Now let’s dive into everything we know so far about the film.

What is Train Dreams about?

The film starts in the 20th century and follows Robert Grainier (Edgerton), who was orphaned as a child and raised in the thick forests of the Pacific Northwest. He is working to expand America’s railroads while dreaming of marrying Gladys (Jones) and starting a family. But just like most hard-working men in the 20th century, his work often takes him away. The film is a story of an ordinary man like himself who wants to spend loads of quality time with his wife and daughter, but is stuck in the cycle of grief.

In other words, it is a portrait of a man living through a world that keeps changing. In the 21st century, humans have made tonnes of progress. But one thing that keeps bothering us is the harm we are causing to the environment. Well, Grainier experienced that back in the day. He is worried about forests being cut down, railroads penetrating the heart of the land and how he finds meaning in the middle of it all.

Who is in the cast?

Joel Edgerton definitely looks the part as Robert. You see, the requirement of the character was to be an ambitious man, but also someone who is extremely tired from the inside. And there’s something tired in the way he carries himself that makes the character feel real. Felicity Jones shows up as Gladys, and even in the little glimpses we got of her in the trailer, she feels like the only presence in his life that’s steady. Just like in the book, she has been playing the wife who is holding things together while everything else feels uncertain. Kerry Condon and William H. Macy are also in the film, along with Nathaniel Arcand and Alfred Hsing. But the best part is Will Patton’s narration, which gives you the feeling that you are listening to the story in real time.

Is there a trailer available?

Yes, Netflix has released a teaser. It doesn’t give away the plot, but it shows you what matters. Watching it makes you feel like you are peeking into a life rather than a film, and that makes it more powerful.

Who is behind the film?

Train Dreams is directed by Clint Bentley and co-written with Greg Kwedar. It is the same team behind Sing Sing. Adapted from Johnson’s novella, which first appeared in The Paris Review in 2002 and later became a standalone book in 2011.

When does Train Dreams come out?

The film hits select theatres on November 7th, before streaming on Netflix globally on November 21st.