Train Dreams
Directed by Clint Bentley
Black Bear Pictures
“Does beauty in itself possess an intrinsic value?” In the movie Train Dreams, about the life of a simple logging man, Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), beauty is found in the rivers and mountains where he lives and works. The natural grandeur of his surroundings is a counterpoint to the struggle and sorrow of Grainier’s life, which is depicted as a test of endurance in a changing world.
Grainier meets Gladys (played by Felicity Jones), whom he marries, and together they build a log cabin in the woods. There is a genuine warmth between the two, especially when Gladys gives birth to a daughter, and we witness the tenderness of family life against the backdrop of river and mountain. This idyllic existence is interrupted by the need for Grainier to earn money. Unable to find good paying work locally, he must travel to where the loggers are, and so they separate every logging season.
Train Dreams is a slow-paced movie with almost no plot. Its success largely depends on the performance of Edgerton, who gives us a mostly sympathetic character to believe in. His face conveys a mixture of curiosity and incomprehension as he stoically bears the slings and arrows of life. Supporting players come and go, but no one stays long enough for a character to be developed. Dialogue is often spoken quietly and without passion, which becomes enervating after a while.
This much-praised movie depends a great deal on cinematographer Adolpho Veloso’s visual talent. Shooting in 1:43 ratio, he artfully composes each frame with a painterly touch, enhanced by the use of golden light. Director Clint Bentley admires the work of Andrei Tarkovsky, whose influence is noticeable in a certain scene that repeats throughout the movie. But Train Dreams more closely resembles the movies of Terrence Malick, with its steady pacing and pervasive sense of impending tragedy. For all of its beauty, Train Dreams offers a bleak vision of the world.
The dialogue is perhaps the weakest element of the movie. The characters say what sound like profound things, but it all feels a little like reading a fortune cookie. For example, when Grainier asks an old timer (played by William H. Macy) where the years go, Macy replies, “When you find out, let me know, there are a few I’d like to get back.”
The screenwriters have also decided to address subjects relevant to contemporary audiences, such as illegal immigration, environmentalism, and feminism. This works against the period realism the filmmakers have so meticulously crafted. The movie also offers a shameful example of moral relativism, with two separate scenes depicting cold-blooded murders. The filmmakers want the audience to disapprove of one and accept the other.
When Train Dreams leaves aside the messaging and philosophizing, it weaves a spell and draws you into its world. “I love silent cinema and am always trying to get to the place where the imagery of the film is doing the work with the audience … and transcends whatever you planned as a filmmaker,” Clint Bentley wrote recently. He is a gifted filmmaker who understands the power of the image and the use of music to stir deep spiritual feelings.
This is a deeply sad movie. All film is, to some extent, a deception and a manipulation. When one becomes aware of heartstrings being tugged once too often, the spell is broken. As for beauty, sometimes you can have too much of it. Watching a film with so many beautiful and wonderfully composed images is like eating your way through a box of candy. Less can be more.
The Rev. David Beresford is a retired priest who lives in Wilmington, Delaware. He writes a weekly blog at davidberesford.net.
