On Jan. 25, the Salt Lake Celebration of Sundance became home to the first-ever screening of Clint Bently’s new feature film, “Train Dreams.” The film, based on a novella of the same name written by Denis Johnson, follows a man named Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton) through life in the age of the country’s expansion. 

Bently, who debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2021 with his film “Jockey,” was recruited by Kamala Films to create an adaptation of this story.

“I had been a fan of Denis Johnson’s writing for years and years and years,” he said. “I don’t think I would have had the courage to take it on until they asked me to join them on this journey.”

Simple Man, Simple Life

Though the setting of “Train Dreams” represents a big picture — the epic evolution of the Western world — Bently focused the story through the lens of a normal man. The vulnerability of this narrative choice allows for a greater sense of intimacy between the characters and the audience.

Edgerton expressed his interest in the normalcy of this character as it is quite different from the action-driven protagonists seen in films today.

“It is really interesting to take on a character, and I have experienced this before, where the world is pushing you along,” Edgerton said. 

The characteristics of Grainier are the epitome of a humble man, devoted to his wife, Gladys (Felicity Jones) and bewildered by the changing world. As life begins to shift, Grainier finds himself at the mercy of nature’s unforgiving force.  

Grainier’s blissful outlook on life is stripped away when Gladys and their daughter Kate (Olive Steverding) go missing after a wildfire rips through their home and the once-beautiful forest surrounding it. The ghosts of his past replace Grainier’s blissful disposition, forcing him to maneuver through the grief of lost love and meditate on his place in a world swept up by history.

“It’s really about the journey of a person’s life, absorbing the terrible things and also experiencing the joys and laughs with it,” Edgerton said. 

Family, Fear and Fatherhood

This film explores connection along many avenues. Grainier’s connection to his wife and daughter is a major plot point within the film, as well as his relationship with the men he meets during his logging expeditions. Edgerton expressed his own sense of connection to this story and his performance as a manual laborer by speaking about his family’s work as farmers.

“Part of me feels this sort of admiration looking at their lives, my grandfather drove trains, was a bullet driver, drove cattle and worked on farms, ” he said. “There is a part of me that wonders what my life would have been like if my father would have taken on that gig.”

The film explores the intricate nature of loss and how it resonates in a person’s life. Edgerton initially feared the film due to its heavy content and its relation to the grief of losing a child. However, he overcame his hesitancy by thinking of it as work.

“The reason to go to work should be that it frightens you a little bit,” he said.

Beyond the intense thematic nature of this film, Edgerton was able to channel his paternal instincts in his portrayal of Grainier’s character. He described his children as one of the major influences for his involvement in the film.

“The script really resonated with me, particularly as a father,” he said. “Within the film there’s a sense of loss and grief and that really hit me hard and made it something that I felt was confronting enough to want to get involved in.” 

Listening to the Chickens

The cinematography behind the composition of “Train Dreams” is truly remarkable. In accordance with the film’s title, it wanders along a dream-like timeline, jumping from one scene to the next. Bently described the film’s cinematographer, Adolpho Veloso as a genius and a miracle worker. 

“A lot of it was trying to find this balance between having very thought out camera movements when it called for it and just letting the moment, the actors and the chickens tell you where you should go and where the camera should be,” Bently said.  

Although the film centers around the heaviness of loss and grief, it also serves as a reminder to wallow in the joys of life, so let’s end on a slightly lighter note. 

The film is set during the age of the locomotive and shows how the invention of the train transformed the world. Since the first “choo choo,” the technological world has evolved tremendously, sending new inventions into the lives of the people involved in this film. 

When asked which one invention they could not live without today, Edgerton said, “music … well, recorded music,” and Bently followed suit. “I mean probably like all of us, my phone,” he said. “I hate to admit it though.”

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