The holidays are a time to luxuriate in having less to do than normal, and that typically means watching a whole heap of content – with all of us making the most of our streaming subscriptions for once. Still, that also means that plenty of people arguably take the easy way out and watch a bunch of stuff that isn't particularly demanding or new.
Not to toot my own horn, but I try to concentrate around this time of year on watching at least a few things that I haven't seen before, rather than the same old classics and re-runs, and Netflix got my attention with Train Dreams in quite a big way. Based on a genuinely lovely little novella by Denis Johnson, the film arrived on Netflix right at the end of November, and shouldn't be missed.
It stars Joel Edgerton in what might just be a career-best performance as Robert Grainier, a relatively ordinary man whose life acts as a snapshot of American history at a time of immense change. He's born at a time when the rail network was still being built on the frontiers, working as a logger for much of his life.
By the time he dies, though, it's the 1960s and man is in space – summing up an almost outrageous amount of technological and social progress, much of which has passed him by as he recovers from personal tragedy in his own way. It's a pretty all-encompassing tale, but a very elegant and pared-back film despite that, running well under two hours (which it can often help to know in advance).
Crucially, this is a gorgeous film to look at – shot in an almost IMAX-like squared-off format, which really helps with the amount of forestry on show. Verticality is a key part of the awe of trees, after all, and those trees play huge roles in the stories that unfold around Grainier and involving him.
It's as naturalistic a movie as Netflix has made in a long time, I'd say, and if you haven't already got it on your watchlist, then this is the perfect time to change that. Just be prepared – I'll be candid and say that this is a bit of a tearjerker, although I think it's gentle enough for that not to put people off.
If my recommendation isn't enough, though, it's worth pointing out that the movie is sitting on a critics' score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, underlining that it's quietly gone down extremely well. Don't be surprised if it gets some Oscar nods in a few weeks, too.
