Train Dreams Parent Guide

Robert Grainer (Joel Edgerton) never knew his parents, never had any family of his own, and never really had any friends. His chosen profession, as a logger in the Rocky Mountains, lends itself to solitude. When he meets Gladys (Felicity Jones), he falls in love, and soon the two are married, living in an idyllic cabin by the river. There isn’t much work in town, though, so Robert still spends most of his time away from home, cutting trees in the silence of the woods. Outside of his quiet life, though, the world is changing, and soon it seems his way of life will be gone like the snow.

Thoughtful, emotional, and utterly captivating, Train Dreams might be one of my favorite movies of the year. It is also, I should warn you, profoundly melancholy, if not downright sad. To balance that sorrowful tone, the film brings incredibly beautiful cinematography and delicate writing. There’s a real grace to the storytelling that requires little in the way of exposition and allows the characters to shine without having to constantly explain things to the audience.

The film is rated PG-13, mostly due to the sporadic violence that seems to haunt Robert out on the treeline, and a very brief scene of a sexual nature. There’s hardly any drinking or swearing to speak of – unlikely as that sounds for a film taking place largely in remote lumber camps. Cussing simply wouldn’t fit in with the tone the story cultivates. There’s something about the quiet simplicity of Robert’s life which is incredibly endearing, and which anchors the film.

Train Dreams is a movie built on good writing and phenomenal performances, which puts me in a bit of a bind. Typically, I spend a good chunk of my reviews complaining about something or other, but this production hasn’t left me much to gripe about. I can’t tell you much else without spoiling some of the later plot developments - and I really don’t want to drop spoilers since I actually think you should watch this one, for a change.

There’s little to compare this movie too, although I wish there was. It’s a meditation on the end of one era and the beginning of another, on ephemeral happiness, on things lost forever, and the inexorable cruelty of change. It sounds complex and overambitious, but Train Dreams rides an incredibly smooth track between its towering themes.

About author

Keith Hawkes

Keith Hawkes graduated from Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada with a degree in English and History. His interests are movies, American literature, science fiction, almost every kind of music, and museums. He enjoys criticizing films for fun - although he's okay with being paid for it.