{"id":2142945,"date":"2025-11-08T15:01:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T15:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2142945"},"modified":"2025-11-08T15:01:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T15:01:32","slug":"netflix-channels-terrence-malick-but-without-the-god-stuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/netflix-channels-terrence-malick-but-without-the-god-stuff\/","title":{"rendered":"Netflix channels Terrence Malick, but without the God stuff"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Film critics have been known to use the term \u201cnovelistic\u201d as a euphemism for long but good \u2013 yet <em>Train Dreams<\/em>, an adaptation of a 2011 book by Denis Johnson, earns the accolade in an hour-and-three-quarters flat. This lyrical, consoling period piece follows a taciturn logger, Robert Grainier, played by a never-better nor more understated <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/tv\/2024\/05\/08\/dark-matter-apple-tv-review-joel-edgerton-jennifer-connelly\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Joel Edgerton;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">Joel Edgerton<\/a>, who makes a life for himself out in America\u2019s Pacific Northwest wilderness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Some of that life is spent alone, some with the itinerant workers with whom he builds the civilising railroads, and some in a cosy cabin with his beloved wife Gladys, played with vivacity and pluck by Felicity Jones. The film\u2019s earliest (though not first) scene takes place in the late 1800s, when the young and presumably orphaned Robert finds himself on a train to rural Idaho. Its latest (though not last) unfolds in what must be the 1960s.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Some of the best scenes entail nothing more than Edgerton playing with his and Jones\u2019s young daughter by the river &#8211; Netflix<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">But the plot \u2013 if plot isn\u2019t too strong a word for the meandering semi-narrative \u2013 skips around like a writer\u2019s mind contemplating a blank page. There is no propulsive three-act structure underpinning it all, but rather a gentle, moment-by-moment accrual of meaning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Some of the best scenes entail nothing more than Edgerton playing with his and Jones\u2019s young daughter by the river, or drinking tea with Kerry Condon\u2019s forestry worker on a veranda at sunset, or sitting under a tree opposite William H Macy, who in the role of the logging crew\u2019s dynamite guy muses on the interconnectedness of the natural world. Nothing about it should work as a film, yet almost everything does.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"William H Macy stars as explosives expert Arn Peeples\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"600\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/t0N.BBTCruZuo6Qr4tQ1YA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYwMDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/the_telegraph_258\/6d5fffaaf1505bfbf243f32e185fe3a0\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>William H Macy stars as explosives expert Arn Peeples &#8211; Netflix<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Director Clint Bentley and his co-writer Greg Kwedar, of the superb 2023 prison drama <em>Sing Sing<\/em>, capture the plaintive beauty of Grainier\u2019s life on the margins of 20th-century progress without hamming up the romance or laying on the grit; the airy, dappled photography is frequently stunning. Grainier\u2019s dream life during his lengthy spells away from home reunites him with his wife and daughter, but these visions are intermingled with others of his own childhood, the landscapes and railways, and sometimes the face of a Chinese labourer he once saw thrown from a timber viaduct both men had helped build.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">There\u2019s no inherent sanctity nor holy purpose to Grainier\u2019s existence: indeed, the film feels like something Terrence Malick might have made, but without the God stuff. Yet, in its own quiet way, it still grazes against the divine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>In selected cinemas now, then on Netflix from November 21<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/customer\/subscribe\/01doysa\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><b>Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Film critics have been known to use the term \u201cnovelistic\u201d as a euphemism for long but good \u2013 yet Train Dreams, an adaptation of a 2011 book by Denis Johnson, earns the accolade in an hour-and-three-quarters flat. This lyrical, consoling period piece follows a taciturn logger, Robert Grainier, played by a never-better nor more understated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2142946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[345516,345518,345517,23191,409099,367137,345519,393524],"class_list":["post-2142945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-denis-johnson","tag-felicity-jones","tag-joel-edgerton","tag-netflix","tag-pacific-northwest","tag-robert-grainier","tag-william-h-macy","tag-young-daughter"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Netflix-channels-Terrence-Malick-but-without-the-God-stuff.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2142945"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2142947,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142945\/revisions\/2142947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2142946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2142945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2142945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2142945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}