When is Train Dreams set? The time period of Joel Edgerton’s movie explored

Train Dreams was one of the best movies that landed last year. After playing in select theaters, it was available on the streaming platform Netflix on November 21, 2025. It was nominated for several awards, including Golden Globes, Critics' Choice, Astra Film, and more. Oscar nominations might also follow in the days to come.

It is a film about Robert Grainier, played by Joel Edgerton, recounting 80 years of his life. That means the film packs a story that runs between the 18th and 19th centuries. More specifically, the year 1917 is at the core, as that's around when some major events of his life occurred.

The story was published in The Paris Review in 2002 and later adapted as a novella.

A brief timeline of events in Train Dreams

You'll get to know the precise timeline of the story from the book rather than watching the film. But you'll get to live the beauty that the book captures on the screen. Both come with their own advantages. So, we are going with the book here for the sake of the film's timeline in this article.

Train Dreams is mainly set around 1917, when a Chinese man is thrown off a bridge. Robert Grainier has a minor involvement in this incident, which is going to haunt him for the rest of his life. By this time, our protagonist is in his 30s. He has a wife named Gladys (Felicity Jones) and a daughter called Kate.

The story recounts 80 years of the man's life. According to the book, he was born in 1886 and arrived on the Great Northern Railway in 1893. He quit school in his teens and lived a life in the region, without any purpose, until he met his future wife.

The story then comes back to 1920, where he meets Arn Peeples (William H. Macy), a man with whom he would become good friends. However, Macy's character isn't in it for long, as he is killed by a falling branch soon. The 1920s proved to be a devastating year for Robert Grainier, as he didn't just lose his close friend but also his family.

His life becomes lonelier, and he sees dreams and visions of his wife and daughter as he continues to live. During this time, he also finds a friend in Kerry Condon's Clair Thompson in Train Dreams, who is a forestry service worker, and encourages him to move on in life.

The narrator mentions at the end that he was finally "connected to it all" after losing his senses.