Joel Edgerton again Felicity Jones‘ Netflix period drama Train for Dreams could be a surprise success story at the 2026 Oscars.
The sprawling family drama faces tough competition in the Best Picture category against big-budget blockbusters – including horror flicks They are sinnerssports drama Marty Supreme and interesting politics One Battle After Another – but impressed critics and audiences alike with approval scores in the 90s on Rotten Tomatoes.
Edgerton presents a vivid but compelling portrait of railroad worker Robert Grainier enduring many tragedies while building a life for himself in century-old Bonners Ferry, Idaho.
The film has already won Best Feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards in February 2026, which could be a bellwether for further success at the 98th Academy Awards.
Keep scrolling to find out more Train for Dreams before Oscar night.
What is ‘Train Dreams’ About?
Netflix adaptation of the author Dennis JohnsonThe 2011 novel of the same name takes place during the 80s in the life of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton). Robert arrives near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, as an orphan and spends his formative years working on the Spokane International Railway.
Eventually Robert meets and falls in love with Gladys Olding (Felicity Jones). They get married and welcome a daughter named Kate but Robert doesn’t stay home for long because of his work.
As Robert becomes disenchanted with working on the railroad, he is increasingly plagued by recurring dreams of being hit by a train. He takes a seasonal logging job so he can be closer to home before a deadly tragedy takes his life for the better.
Felicity Jones and Joel Edgerton in “Train Dreams”.
Courtesy Netflix / Courtesy Everett CollectionThe final parts of Train Dreams revolve around Robert growing up close to Claire Thompson (Kerry Condon) of the United States Forest Service, all the while trying to stay in touch with the spirits of those they lost.
Train for Dreams ends in 1968 when Robert finally escapes his idyllic life in Bonners Ferry on an astronaut-inspired biplane trip. John GlennFlying in space.
Who Starred in ‘Dream Train’?
Joel Edgerton (star Wars) gives a quiet but moving performance as Robert Grainier, a railroad worker-turned-logger who witnesses the widespread changes caused by the Industrial Revolution.
Two-time Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones portrays Roberts’ wife, Gladys Olding Grainier, a loving and supportive woman who mysteriously disappears during one of her husband’s logging jobs.
Train for Dreams‘ supporting cast includes Kerry Condon (Better Call Saul) as forest service agent Claire Thompson, William H. Macy (Fargo) as lumberjack Robert Arn Peeples, and Nathaniel Arcand (Flower Moon Assassins) as store manager Ignatius Jack.
Clint Bentley (A jockey) directed Train for Dreamsin addition to turning Denis Johnson’s 2011 novel into a screenplay of his own Agree Agree participant Greg Kwedar.
What Are Critics Saying About ‘Train Dreams’?
Train for Dreams it has a 94 percent critical score and a 91 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, as of publication.
Alissa Wilkinson explained Train for Dreams as a “good” film in New York Times while the legendary critic Peter Travers He classified it as “old in the making.”
“A lot of movies make you feel, when you look back, that no one else could have played those characters but the characters,” David Fear wrote to Rolling Stone. “Edgerton gives you that feeling within the first 30 seconds on screen here.”
Joel Edgerton in “Train Dreams”.
Courtesy Netflix / Courtesy Everett CollectionTheWrap‘s Chase Hutchinson he praised a lot Train for Dreams for being “a Western history of dramatic glamor and lyrical cinematic horror.”
“It’s a work that contains all the wonderful, devastating layers of life, which it explores with gentle grace without hiding from the pain that goes with it,” added Hutchinson.
For a nice little update, Lindsey Bahr of The Associated Press he objected to that Train for Dreams “It can be a little close to emotional sometimes.”
What ‘Dream Won’ Awards?
The American Film Institute and the National Board of Review are both named Train for Dreams as one of their top 10 films of 2025.
At the Film Independent Spirit Awards in February 2026, Train for Dreams it took home the award for Best Feature and Best Director for Clint Bentley.
Now that 2025 is over, it means awards season is on. Before long, we’ll learn which actors will compete for Best Actor or Best Actress at the Oscars and other events. For now, Watch With Us is the best because we’ve already picked five of the best movies to watch. […]
Train for Dreams received four Oscar nominations ahead of the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 15. In addition to competing for Best Picture, Train for Dreams is in the running for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography.
Nick Cave again Bryce Dessner‘s Train for Dreams The title track will be Best Original Song vs. Original Song Diane Warren: Don’t stop, KPop Demon Hunters, They are sinners again Viva Verdi!. It’s surprising that Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones didn’t make it to the best acting Oscars.
Train for Dreams is available to stream now on Netflix.
