TRAIN DREAMS Special Screenings

Clint Bentley’s adaptation of Denis Johnson’s acclaimed novella stars Joel Edgerton as a man who spends his life logging in the Pacific Northwest, and over the years comes to know love, loss and a profound remaking of his world. Edgerton plays Robert Grainier, a man who grew up as an orphan on the western frontier, unsure of his exact date of birth, or even whether it was in the U.S. or Canada. Deposited by train at a young age in Fry, Idaho, Grainier quit school early to work as a logger, an itinerant profession staffed by various scoundrels, kooks and characters. Grainier’s rootlessness ends after he meets and marries Gladys Oakley (Felicity Jones), with whom he has a baby daughter and settles down in a cabin he builds by the river. But Grainier’s logging jobs take him away for weeks at a time, and other hazards of life out west threaten the family’s happiness. Beautifully photographed by Adolpho Veloso, and featuring a dreamy, plaintive score by Bryce Dessner, TRAIN DREAMS is an impressionistic telling of the story of a man’s life from youth to old age, with memorable incidents taking on the weight of legend, and moments of happiness and heartache resonating across the years. Bentley adapted the novella with his co-screenwriter and frequent collaborator Greg Kwedar (SING SING). The supporting cast includes Kerry Condon, Clifton Collins Jr. and a memorable turn from William H. Macy as an explosives expert. Narrated by Will Patton. –Todd Hitchcock