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There’s a certain kind of film that sneaks up on you, crawls into your ribs, and just stays there. Train Dreams is one of those movies — a slow-burn stunner from director Clint Bentley, adapted from Denis Johnson’s beloved novella, and led by powerhouse performances from Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, and Kerry Condon. Jones and Condon speak with Kyle Meredith about the Netflix film’s dreamlike textures, its off-the-grid production in the Pacific Northwest, and the surprising skills they picked up along the way. Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts.
Buy the Train Dreams Novella
Jones describes the shoot as instinctive and stripped-down, a far cry from the usual marks-and-lines rigidity of studio filmmaking. “They wanted spontaneity,” she says, explaining the loose, lived-in domestic beats — feeding chickens, gardening, roaming wherever the light hit right — that gave the film its hypnotic pulse. Condon, meanwhile, was struck by the precision of the script. “It was pretty close to perfect. There weren’t holes to fill,” she notes, though she loved how the memories-and-movement editing added layers the book couldn’t.
Both actresses talk about the emotional weight of honoring a story so many readers hold dear, and the way Bryce Dessner’s ever-present score shaped the film’s atmosphere. “The music adds another layer — it becomes part of the breathing of the movie,” Condon says.
Of course, a film set in the early 1900s comes with its own unusual “job requirements.” Jones laughs about relearning how to fire a rifle with help from an ex-military props master: “I had to practice nonstop so it felt like second nature.” Then came the big one: she really did learn how to skin a goat. “I quite like a challenge,” she says, “and if the character does it, I want to know how to do it.” Condon, meanwhile, talks about her lifelong relationship with horses, her farm not far from the filming location, and the funny symmetry of starting two different movies — both with Joel Edgerton — on horseback. The pair even riff on their shared Star Wars pedigree and the film’s near-supernatural ending.
Listen to Felicity Jones and Kerry Condon talk about Train Dreams, and more in the new episode above or by watching the video below. Keep up on all the latest episodes by following Kyle Meredith With… on your favorite podcast platform; plus, check out all the series on the Consequence Podcast Network.
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