Explore the making of 'Train Dreams,' an unconventional 'western' starring Joel Edgerton as a stoical lumberjack in 1900s Idaho. Director Clint Bentley and Edgerton reveal the struggles of pitching a film about a non-heroic character with spiritual elements, and how its themes of work-life balance, grief, and the impermanence of human achievement deeply resonate with their own lives, leading to critical acclaim and unexpected Oscar buzz.
The article details the making of 'Train Dreams,' an unconventional 'western' directed by Clint Bentley and starring Joel Edgerton as Robert Grainier, a stoical lumberjack in 1900s Idaho. The film, based on Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella, explores the life of a man who builds America's infrastructure but is 'pushed around by life,' featuring spiritual elements and a rugged, earthbound tone rather than traditional western tropes. Both Edgerton and Bentley admit the film was a difficult pitch to studios due to its non-heroic protagonist and lack of conventional action. Edgerton, who plays Grainier, reveals his personal connection to the role, particularly after becoming a father, relating to Grainier's struggles with work-life balance and imagining profound loss. He discusses his approach to playing taciturn characters, drawing on advice from director Jeff Nichols to 'understand you less,' and emphasizes the crucial importance of communication between directors and actors. Bentley shares that the film's themes of men being away from their families due to work resonate deeply with his own life, mirroring his journeyman jockey father's experiences and his own current itinerant filmmaking career. He reflects on the classic 'cowboy vacillation' – the yearning for home versus the call of the wild – and how directing 'Train Dreams' helped him understand his late father better. Despite initial studio trepidation, 'Train Dreams' is now garnering rave reviews and is tipped as an Oscar contender. The article concludes by highlighting the film's overarching themes of the impermanence of human achievement and the preciousness of analogue, human-made art in a world increasingly dominated by digital creations.
