Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones’ Netflix period drama Train Dreams could be a surprise success story at the 2026 Oscars.
The sparse family drama is facing tough competition in the Best Picture category against blockbusters with much larger budgets — including horror hit Sinners, sports drama Marty Supreme and political thriller One Battle After Another — but it has impressed critics and audiences alike with approval scores in the 90s on Rotten Tomatoes.
Edgerton delivers an understated yet gripping portrayal of railroad worker Robert Grainier enduring numerous tragedies while building a life for himself in turn-of-the-century Bonners Ferry, Idaho.
The movie already won Best Feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards in February 2026, which could be a bellwether for even more success at the 98th Academy Awards.
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Keep scrolling for more about Train Dreams ahead of Oscar night.
What Is ‘Train Dreams’ About?
The Netflix adaptation of author Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella of the same name takes place over the course of 80 years in the life of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton). Robert arrives near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, as an orphaned child and spends his formative years working on the Spokane International Railway.
Robert eventually meets and falls in love with Gladys Olding (Felicity Jones). They marry and welcome a daughter named Kate but Robert is kept away from home for long periods because of his work.
As Robert grows disillusioned with working on the railroad, he is increasingly haunted by recurring dreams of being struck by a train. He takes seasonal logging work to be closer to home before a deadly tragedy upends his life once again.
The latter portions of Train Dreams revolve around Robert growing close to Claire Thompson (Kerry Condon) of the United States Forest Service, all the while trying to remain connected to the spirits of those he has lost.
Train Dreams concludes in 1968 when Robert finally steps out of his insular life in Bonners Ferry for a biplane journey inspired by astronaut John Glenn‘s flight into space.
Who Stars in ‘Train Dreams’?
Joel Edgerton (Star Wars) delivers a quiet yet stirring performance as Robert Grainier, a railroad worker-turned-logger who witnesses widespread changes caused by the Industrial Revolution.
Two-time Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones portrays Roberts’s wife, Gladys Olding Grainier, a loving and supportive woman who mysteriously disappears during one of her husband’s logging jobs.
Train Dreams’ impressive supporting cast includes Kerry Condon (Better Call Saul) as forest services agent Claire Thompson, William H. Macy (Fargo) as Robert’s fellow logger Arn Peeples, and Nathaniel Arcand (Killers of the Flower Moon) as storekeeper Ignatius Jack.
Clint Bentley (Jockey) directed Train Dreams, in addition to adapting Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella into a screenplay with his Sing Sing collaborator Greg Kwedar.
What Are Critics Saying About ‘Train Dreams’?
Train Dreams has a 94 percent critical score and a 91 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, as of publication.
Alissa Wilkinson described Train Dreams as a “gorgeous film” in the New York Times while legendary critic Peter Travers classified it as “a classic in the making.”
“So many films make you feel, in hindsight, that no one else could have played those characters except the people who were cast,” David Fear wrote in Rolling Stone. “Edgerton gives you that sensation within the first 30 seconds of him being onscreen here.”
TheWrap’s Chase Hutchinson lavished praise on Train Dreams for being “a Western epic of breathtaking visual splendor and formidable lyrical cinematic poetry.”
“It’s a work containing all the wondrous, devastating layers of an entire life, which it explores with a gentle grace without hiding from the agony that comes with it,” Hutchinson added.
In a less positive review, Lindsey Bahr of the Associated Press argued that Train Dreams “might veer a little too close to sentimental at times.”
What Awards Has ‘Train Dreams’ Already Won?
The American Film Institute and the National Board of Review both named Train Dreams as one of their Top 10 Films of 2025.
At the Film Independent Spirit Awards in February 2026, Train Dreams took home the Best Feature Award as well as Best Director for Clint Bentley.
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Train Dreams received four Oscar nominations ahead of the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 15. In addition to vying for Best Picture, Train Dreams is in competition for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography.
Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner’s Train Dreams title track is up for Best Original Song against music from Diane Warren: Relentless, KPop Demon Hunters, Sinners and Viva Verdi!. Surprisingly, Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones did not make the cut in the Oscars’ lead acting categories.
How Can You Watch ‘Train Dreams’?
Train Dreams is available to stream now via Netflix.
