For that unique form of literature, the novella to be successful, there has to be a core of precise crispness to the author’s prose. Extraneous writing is unhelpful. Novellas should run between 7,500 and 40,000 words. With allowances for some overlapping either way. A word count that is less is considered a short story and more is labeled a novel.
Many very good films have been made from novellas. There is a general understanding, with which you just might disagree, that the dozen best movies based on novellas are: “Apocalypse Now” (1979), “Arrival” (2016), “The Birds” (1963), “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” (1961), “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1931), “Minority Report” (2002), “Scrooge” (1951), “Shopgirl” (2005), “Stand By Me” (1986), “The Mist” (2007), “The Old Man And The Sea” (1958), and “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994).
My favorite novella is “Shopgirl,” which is written by actor-comedian Steve Martin. The story is about a complicated love triangle involving a disenchanted salesgirl (played by Claire Danes), a rootless young man (Jason Schwartzman), and a wealthy businessman, acted by Martin himself, who also wrote the screenplay. The film is a bit less successful than the book, lacking, as it does, a finer touch of elegance than its source material.
A new entry in the field of transitioning from novella to movie is “Train Dreams.” American director Clint Bentley has adapted Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella, which starts in the 1890s, presents a major thread during the early 20th century, and ultimately settles into the 1960s. Bentley wrote the screenplay with Greg Kwedar. The pair last collaborated on the script for 2023’s superb “Sing Sing,” which Kwedar directed.
“Train Dreams” is about an ordinary man named Robert Grainier, who lives a simple life, which is the kind most Americans lived during that era. His goal is to work hard, marry and raise a family, and be satisfied with what he accomplishes. Grainier (wonderfully acted by Joel Edgerton) is a day laborer, one of many thousands of men, who traveled throughout the West to help build railways, roads, and bridges. He is also a logger. His work is physically difficult, and he is often away from home for months at a time. However, Grainier balances the excesses of the grueling, intensive labor through the decision he has made regarding his private life. He values relaxation. Grainier rejects living in a city in Idaho, or even a large community, and goes further into the countryside, where he establishes a residence on a plot of land that will include his wife Gladys (an outstanding Felicity Jones) and their young daughter. He relishes simplicity and solitude, and with his small family, he finds it. In their serene corner of the world, they can raise animals and grow crops.
Novellas often rely on a central character’s emotional balance, especially in the face of conflict. The film, with its deep emotional underpinnings, begins with Robert as a young boy facing the world without his parents. In the small town in which he lives, he feels unwelcome. Robert grows into manhood — he is tall and strong — and through interaction with good-thinking adults, he has developed a positive moral compass and a respect for the dignity of all men and women, regardless of where they came from or what they do. The country is connecting itself from coast to coast and from northern border to southern border. In a shocking moment for him, he witnesses white men, his fellow workers, throw an immigrant Chinese laborer to his death off a bridge into a river. Robert can’t stop their hatred. The barbarity of this act of extreme cruelty haunts him throughout his adult life.
Working in places he knows little about awakens deep curiosities in him. He meets interesting people — some as curious as he is — such as a fellow named Arn Peeples, who is an explosives expert. He’s played delightfully by William H. Macy. Peeples is that garrulous, goodhearted fellow who knows the way of the world and its history, too. Grainier is fascinated by him and is thrilled to learn new things. He also meets Claire Thompson, a forestry service worker vital to the story, who is well-acted by Kerry Condon.
“Train Dreams,” which is playing on Netflix after a theatrical run in order to qualify for the Academy Awards, tells Robert’s story with some surprises in the mix. There are also jolts that I will not describe. Episodes from his life are spoken about by the film’s narrator. A perfect Will Patton does the reading. As Robert ages, different types of people enter his life and have an impact on it. There is a lovely moment when he is crossing a bridge and reflects on the time he spent helping build it. There is a deep poetry to the storytelling as memories of friends and events return to the fore. The movie is properly elegiac.
Primarily shot in the Pacific Northwest, “Train Dreams” is one of the most beautiful movies of the year. What we are seeing is often bathed in gold and green, colors that offer a proper lyricism to what we are watching. The cinematography by Adolpho Veloso is breathtaking. Bentley has captured a fictional literary tale that includes respect for the great American landscape and shifts it to the screen in ways that haven’t been this extraordinary since director Terrence Malick’s 1978 “Days Of Heaven.”
The remarkable film reveals itself to be about the power and goodness of which humankind is capable, and how the word family can mean something different to whoever is describing it. This is done in ways that are not preachy or temperamental. Bentley and Kwedar have written an ode to the possibilities of America. An adapted screenplay Oscar nomination is deserved, as are nods for actor for Edgerton, actress for Jones, supporting actor for Macy, supporting actress for Condon, cinematography, editing, art direction and other craft positions, as well as for best picture. “Train Dreams” is a thoughtful movie about people and the loss and gain of hope. If the Academy Awards voters are serious about celebrating movies that can be transformational, then “Train Dreams” is their ticket to ride.