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Movie Review: "3:10 to Yuma"

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Contributed by: Karen Huber on 9/19/2007

There's probably a reason so few Westerns are being made nowadays. They're a difficult genre. Without carefuloversight, they can quickly devolve into cliche and predictability. That's a shame, really, because if properly done, they have a distinctive grandeur that's almost impossible to duplicate.
To its credit, "3:10 to Yuma" leans toward the well-turned Western. No one will ever mistake it for a great film--"High Noon," let's say--but it's serviceable enough to warrant attention. The cinematography is imposing, the characters nuanced and interesting. The ending presents several unexpected twists. There's a tragic father-and-son subplot that cries for resolution and may be the actual heart of the film.
At the movie's core is a story of desperation. Christian Bale, in a flawless performance, plays Dan Evans, an impovisherished rancher beaten down by life. He volunteers to escort a vicious criminal eighty miles and put him on a train to jail. Evans is fully aware that the man's gang will hunt him down. Nevertheless he takes the assignment, as much to impress his scornful teen-aged son as to earn the money. The journey is filled with violent encounters--murders and Apache raids. As they advance through these perils, Evans and the desperado, Ben Wade (credibly played by Russell Crowe), take each other's measure and form a strange bond. At the end of the movie, Evans battles the gang single-handedly. What follows is the the most intricate turn of events since the final scene of "The Departed."
Recommendable? Yes--primarily because of the acting. Crowe adds his usual heft to this period piece, and Ben Foster is unnerving as Ben Wade's sociopathic underling. But it's Bale's performance that stays with the viewer when the final credits roll. He is absolutely mesmerizing as a man who's hit rock bottom and still labors to maintain his dignity. It almost hurts to watch him.
Despite its powerful actors, the film still has its faults, foremost among them what I call the "Aw, come on" factor. Too many things in "3:10 to Yuma" strain credulity. An example is Peter Fonda. His character, a bounty hunter, gets shot in the stomach, then promptly mounts a horse and trots along gamely in pursuit of his assailant. One or two such non sequiturs might be overlooked, but "3:10" wallows in them. Eventually they become annoying. Don't Hollywoood producers hire proofreaders to guard against this sort of thing?
Still, taken in its entirety, "3:10 to Yuma" is a worthy effort. Action junkies will not be disappointed, nor will anyone looking for substantive characterization. Left-brainers, however, might want to sit this one out.

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Karen Huber

Colorado Springs , CO

Karen Huber has posted 2 stories and 0 comments since joining on 9/18/2007. Karen Huber 's average story rating is 0.

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