Clint Bentley's Dream trainaccordingly, begins with Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton) I look thoughtfully out the train window. A lumberjack by trade, Robert travels around the country developing the railroad system throughout America, taking him away from his wife (Felicity Jones) and a small daughter for a long time. While he's at work, a devastating wildfire breaks out in the village that Grainier and his family call home, disrupting the simple life Robert leads.
Although the tragic fire is actually the film's climax, Dream train does not wear his conductor's cap to this event; rather, it is one of many moments in the life of Robert Grainier. Bentley's film paints a portrait of a man who simply exists and moves according to the circumstances into which he was born.
Will Patton provides the film's narrative by telling us that Robert was orphaned as a child, and by the end of the film Patton reiterates that Robert will never know the identities of his parents. While most films use this during viewing as a means to fuel drama or as a starting point for deep and painful character studies, Dream trainas with a forest fire, simply accepts the unknown as the unknown.
Movies like Dream train occupy a special place in the Hollywood machine. They are quiet and intelligent, as opposed to jaded and explosive. The impact and moving nature of the film only emerges after we've walked away from it, and yet we remain captivated by the story as it unfolds, thanks in large part to the cast.
Dream train includes a supporting ensemble of notable actors who appear only briefly in the film: William H. Macy as an old-timer on Robert's team, Kerry Condon as a forest service worker, Clifton Collins Jr. as one of Robert's only friends and Felicity Jones as the love of Robert's life. Although their appearances are fleeting, they each add weight to Robert's story, allowing us to understand him as a man who lived a full life.
In the role of Robert, Egerton gives the best performance of his career. Just as Bentley's restraint in the film's making is impressive, Edgerton's ability to command the screen with muted conviction is deeply at the heart of the film. Dream train. Edgerton carries the burden not only of Robert, but of an entire generation of people during a time of great change. The turn-of-the-century Robertses weren't looking for fame and fortune or lashing out at a world that seemed all too happy to leave them behind. The Roberts of yesterday, today and tomorrow accept life as it comes, with joy or sorrow, and try to enjoy the very state of existence.
Philosophers, artists, and scientists are constantly trying to understand our place in the world—not as individuals, but as a species as a whole. Without diminishing the importance of this search, Dream train offers an alternative to stalking. We may never know; perhaps we are simply meant to make the most of our time here, however long it may be, with the people we love, doing what makes us feel most free.
