How ‘Train Dreams’ Director Clint Bentley, DP Adolpho Veloso & Composer Bryce Dessner Tamed Mother Nature And Made Her A Star – Crew Call Live
Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella Train Dreams might be a short clip, and one which is a stream of consciousness in its narrative about the plight of early 20th Century loggers and railroad workers in the Pacific Northwest, but producers Ashley Schlaifer, Will Janowitz and Marissa McMahon knew there was a movie in it, and sought the right director for quite some time. That is until Schlaifer came across the feature directorial of Clint Bentley, Jockey, and eureka was set in motion with the filmmaker and his collaborator Greg Kweder adapting.
It was a prized novel for Bentley to adapt. Truly one of his favorites, hence his careful attention to detail and the decision to shoot close to 99% of the production in natural light; the forces of nature from sunsets, to forest fires, and the fierce wind, all supporting characters in the Black Bear-financed film. Alas, Train Dreams takes place at a time where people were living more in contact with nature and not so separated from it.
Says Bentley about the novella: “In that small container, you feel an entire life … watching time go by. Being able to deal with dreams and memories within the context of a story. But then also, just like what it was speaking about, [the novella] felt like a good container for things that I wanted to explore with the film: Grief and time passing and love and all these bigger things.”
Coincidentally, at one point in time, and separate from the producers on the pic, Joel Edgerton, the star and producer of Train Dreams, even tried to get the rights.
Bentley tells us: “He attached himself before we had any financing or anything and really took a leap of faith on the project.” Critics have praised Edgerton’s turn in the move as hand-to-glove; without a strain he seamlessly walks into the ruggedness of an empathetic (and romantic) logger-railroad worker Robert Grainer, calluses and all; a guy starts a family as America builds out against the Wild West.
Bentley reteamed with his Jockey DP Adolpho Veloso and composer Bryce Dessner, both of whom were guests with the director and co-screenwriter on today’s episode of Deadline’s Crew Call Live, which you can watch above.
Bentley first caught Veloso’s work on a documentary On Yoga: The Architecture of Peace.
“He was going into these caves in the mountains in Nepal or India, and it was just him and a camera and a fire. And yet these scenes looked like Caravaggio paintings,” says Bentley. That sensibility carried over when it came to visually nailing the perfect dawn onscreen in Train Dreams. Similarly, Dessner’s chamber score of strings, piano and woodwinds captures the sounds of the rugged exteriors like a calming, running stream
Train Dreams made its world premiere at Sundance a year ago where Netflix acquired the pic for the high-teen millions. The pic is 95% with critics and 90% with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes and Oscar shortlisted for Cinematography, Original Score and Dessner’s original song “Train Dreams” performed and co-written by Nick Cave. The pic won Best Cinematography at the Critics Choice awards and is up for four Indie Spirit noms, and was nominated for two Golden Globes including Best Song and Best Male Actor Motion Picture Drama for Edgerton.
