Train Dreams is arguably the lowest-profile of all the Oscar best film nominees, and could have easily passed me by, destined instead to be lost in the sprawling Netflix library, if it weren’t for a phone call with a friend last year. “I don’t want to sound like a cliche,” she said, “but I believe this was all better in the 1970s!” Train Dreams was one of the few films of the year she had enjoyed. So I came into Train Dreams, Clint Bentley’s adaptation of the Denis Johnson novella, with that idea in mind: that it was a thing out of step with our time and possibly better for it, too. View image in fullscreen A terrific performance … William H Macy in Train Dreams. Photograph: NetflixWhat also makes Train Dreams seem anachronistic is its sincere interest in moral questions, which feels out of step with our time of widespread villainy.

Source: The Guardian March 09, 2026 09:55 UTC