Movie: Train Dreams (2025)
Directed by: Clint Bentley
Starring: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, William H. Macy
Review by: Kirk Dulin
Review Type: SPOILER FREE

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IS TRAIN DREAMS WORTH MY VALUABLE NETFLIX TIME?

On paper, I am NOT the target audience member for TRAIN DREAMS (2025). At face value, the film is a story that:

• Stars Joel Edgerton (I’ve never been intrigued by his performances)
• Presumably takes place during America’s Gilded Age (which is, historically, visualized by bleak colors and visuals in movies)
• Has a very vague trailer that I never even finished (seriously, don’t watch it)

BUT, If you agree with my opening bullet points, please know that I’m also one of the best audience members to go into films with an open mind. Here’s a few reasons why you should ABSOLUTELY watch this film:

• Joel Edgerton delivers his best performance of his career
• Directed by Clint Bentley…who co-wrote the masterpiece SING SING (2024)
• The bland time period is a VISUAL FEAST, filled with a dynamic, vibrant color palete
• I’m so thankful I skipped the trailer, because I wasn’t looking for the key points that it flashes multiple times. I implore to SKIP THE TRAILER

Not only does Train Dreams take place in the Gilded Age of America, but it slowly transports the audience through time; it’s an intimate reflective portrait of time from the late 1890s through the 1960s. The story follows a simple man who doesn’t really yearn for much. He’s a skilled laborer – mostly cutting trees – going through the motions of working and taking things day-by-day. He unexpectedly meets a woman, played delicately by Felicity Jones, who changes the course of his life’s purpose.

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GOOD ACTING MAKES OR BREAKS A MOVIE

Joel Edgerton has a decorated filmography of big budget studio films and niche genre films: 

• Star Wars, Episode II & III
• Black Mass (2015)
• The Green Knight (2021)

For whatever reason, his previous performances all had a disingenuous tone for me. So much that I’ve turned away from even attempting to watch his other films. Then I accidentally saw him in THE BOYS IN THE BOAT (2023), and I thought, “YES! MORE OF THAT PLEASE!”

Well, he must’ve heard my internal dialogue. Edgerton just unlocked his bad habit of presenting a character, and he’s begun constructing three dimensional human beings on camera. With every emotional demand of the script, Edgerton shows up and creatively surprises the audience on every level.

He’s exactly what you want out of an actor, guiding you through his life experiences AND takes bold choices in critical plot moments as well. I can’t wait to share my additional thoughts on him with all of you for the upcoming January release THE PLAGUE (2025) soon!

And if you enjoyed Felicity Jones in THE BRUTALIST (2024) (and believed she was the best part of that entire film), then you will 1000% fall in love her here. Thoughtful and unique as always.

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PRETTY MOVIES ARE MORE THAN PRETTY

There’s a reason audiences are drawn to visual movie machines like AVATAR, READY PLAYER ONE, TRON, and BLADE RUNNER: they all have big stories, big worlds, and big colors. In Train Dreams, director (Bentley) reminds the audience of those seemingly rural places in America that are bigger than we expect. He illustrates this from the opening frame by capturing the extreme heights of the trees.

How can a movie shot of a tree be beautiful? I’m glad you asked!

By aiming the camera in a specific position that mirrors human to tree comparison, the perspective subconsciously informs the audience how small we humans actually are, and that the fragility of life, can be cut down with relative ease. 

Aside from the trees, there’s SO MUCH COLOR in this film. In standard practice, the best balance of lighting is always warm and cool colors in the same frame. Look back at some of your favorite movies, and you will see this in action, whether you clocked it or not. Not a frame goes by in Bentley’s canvas that skips an opportunity of this balance. It is ALWAYS present. 

Injecting color into a normalized bleak time period is not a bold choice, but a necessary one. I often skip over movies in this era simply because I absorb nothing by the beige color filter. It’s boring and dishonest. There was certainly still color during these years…so SHOW it to the audience!

This is a big turn from Netflix’s in house or acquired films; they have a strong tendency to flatten the color of their movies as a branding effort. Thankfully, there’s no trace of it here, resulting in a unique and impactful story.

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LAST LOOKS

It’s easy to connect the comparative dots on some of the plot points here to other dramas within the past decade. This is noticeable BUT forgivable due to the other positive points of the story. 

What bothered me the most in TRAIN DREAMS was the introduction of some strong character threads that shape our lead that never fully commit. Intros to characters are incredibly empathetic, yet, after their initial scene or scenes, they are discarded and not revisited. This is a turn from Bentley’s writing in SING SING, in which everything has a purpose, and every major and mini arc are traveled to completion.

In a year (2025) full of competent storytelling, this one stands out. 

Score: 8.6/10 kernels

Review By: Kirk Dulin

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TRAIN DREAMS begins streaming on Netflix on:
Friday, November 21, 2025

Film Production Credits: