What makes a life extraordinary? There’s no set formula — it could be the things a person does, or it could be related to the times they live in. Or maybe the potential of living an extraordinary life is within all of us, even the most ordinary of people.

Train Dreams tells the story of one such ordinary man, Robert Grainier (Golden Globe nominee Joel Edgerton), who lives all of his years in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, working on the land, helping to create a new world at the turn of the 20th century. 

Directed by Clint Bentley, the film is an adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novella of the same name, and the script was co-written by Bentley and Greg Kwedar. While Train Dreams encompasses the majesty and degradation of both the natural world and man’s attempt to populate it with odes to industry, it is also an intimate story of love, like that between Robert and his wife Gladys (Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones), family, and loss.

“It’s a really special story and it feels very unique in that it is just about this one person’s life,” Bentley tells Tudum. “This very simple life. Robert Grainier doesn’t do anything that really alters the course of history — he doesn’t fight in some great battle or create some invention that changes people’s lives, and yet he lives a very deep and rich life.”

Train Dreams is now streaming on Netflix, and you can read below to find out more about the film. 

What is Train Dreams about?

Based on the beloved novella by Denis Johnson, Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier (Edgerton), whose life unfolds during an era of unprecedented change in early 20th-century America. Orphaned at a young age, Robert grows into adulthood among the towering forests of the Pacific Northwest, where he helps expand the nation’s railroad empire alongside men as unforgettable as the landscapes they inhabit. After a tender courtship, he marries Gladys (Jones) and they build a home together, though his work often takes him far from her and their young daughter. When his life takes an unexpected turn, Robert finds beauty, brutality, and newfound meaning for the forests and trees he has felled.

An ode to a vanishing way of life, an ever-evolving world, and to the extraordinary possibilities that exist within even the most simple of existences, Train Dreams captures a time and place that are now long gone, and the people who built a bridge to a future they could only dream of. Directed by Academy Award nominee Clint Bentley with a screenplay by Bentley and Academy Award nominee Greg Kwedar, the writing team behind Sing Sing, the film also stars Academy Award nominees William H. Macy and Kerry Condon.

Can I see a clip of Train Dreams?

Yes, you can watch the teaser above, and get an idea of what Bentley means when he says that it’s a film about one man’s “simple life” that also manages to be “deep and rich.”

Bentley tells Tudum, “I think that’s what always really attracted me about [Train Dreams]… it reminded me of a lot of people in my family and in my life. I think most of us will never have some great impact on history and yet we will lead very, very deep and beautiful lives. There’s something very special about [Robert Grainier’s] story in that it is so specific to this one person’s life, and yet there’s a universality to it of a person trying to navigate a world that’s changing around them constantly — kind of leaving you behind, even as you’re still alive.”

Who is in the cast of Train Dreams?

The film stars:

• Joel Edgerton as Robert Grainier
• Felicity Jones as Gladys Grainier
• Kerry Condon as Claire Thompson
• William H. Macy as Arn Peeples
• Nathaniel Arcand as Ignatius Jack
• Alfred Hsing as Fu Sheng
• Will Patton as the Narrator

Who is the creative team behind Train Dreams?

Train Dreams was directed by Bentley, and co-written by Bentley and Kwedar, the Academy Award–nominated team behind Sing Sing (directed by Kwedar, who will soon direct Saturn Return for Netflix). Adapted from the acclaimed novella by Denis Johnson, Train Dreams was first published in The Paris Review in 2002 and released as a stand-alone book in August 2011. 

The film is produced by Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, William Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer, and Michael Heimler. Its executive producers are Edgerton, Scott Hinckley, Kwedar, and John Friedberg. 

Has Train Dreams been nominated for or won any awards?

Yes! On Jan. 22, Train Dreams received four Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay for Bentley and Kwedar’s script, Cinematography for Adolpho Veloso’s stunning work, and Original Song for Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner’s “Train Dreams.”

Bentley’s film is also nominated for four Film Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Edgerton’s towering performance. At the Jan. 4 Critics Choice Awards ceremony, where the drama was nominated for five awards, it took home the trophy for Best Cinematography. 

The film was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards: Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for Edgerton and Best Original Song.

When does Train Dreams come out?

Train Dreams is streaming on Netflix now.