Why is is that I always feel that I have to clarify my personal opinion before I review something? Well, why stop now. I am not a big fan of westerns. I do however rank Tombstone as one of my favorite films. Perhaps I have just viewed enough westerns to make a personal statement of like or dislike. I am certain that now, after watching 3:10 to Yuma, that my personal opinion may be changing. Or perhaps I just watched a film like Tombstone that transcends the genre of the western. Either way, 3:10 to Yuma was psychologically stirring and full of needed action.
There is nothing quite like the cinematography in a good western. The wide open expanses that challenge the characters’ very souls. 3:10 to Yuma begins in a very typical manner. Dan Evans (Christian Bale) is a rancher that has a bad leg and gets his barn burnt down by the local money guy. There’s a drought and the money is all used up. Typical set-up. We then move to the outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) holding up a stagecoach to get the weapons on board. He’s a complete bad-ass. Ben oversees the robbery with his two sons and Wade catches him. Eventually Wade is caught in town and Evans happens to be in the middle of it all. Wade is to be taken to Yuma to catch the 3:10 train to Contention to be locked up. Dan volunteers to help transport Wade. I know it sounds like a fairly straight forward story, and it many ways it is. But the story is not what makes the film great.
The psychology between Dan and Ben is something that can only be described as two men picking apart each others brains. Wade is a psychopath at times and very cruel, yet he has compassion for Dan. Dan on the other hand seems to be a hard working man that only does good, but this is also only one aspect to his psyche. The interplay between Bale and Crowe makes the film. By the end, the viewer is completely wrapped up in a what will happen dilemma. You care about each character, and you care how their relationship will play out. The acting is truly top notch, especially in one of the final scenes where Dan and Ben are sitting in a hotel room surrounded by Ben’s gang. You want them both to win, or at least get what they deserve.
Which brings me to the best part of the film, the end. Without revealing too much; no matter how sad or angry the end makes you feel, it works. Too many times a film wants to push a happy ending just to satisfy the masses while completely ruining the flow of the narrative. 3:10 to Yuma gives us a logical ending that does not conform to the idea that a film needs to leave people giggling and smiling.
I also have to mention the action before we end this review. Too many times a film uses action as a distraction from a poorly written or acted film. 3:10 to Yuma uses the action as a compliment to the narrative. A final amazing gunfight serves as a logical and needed extension from a quiet hotel room conversation. You need both to have some sense of the characters. I am pretty tired of films where action is the driving force rather than story.
Overall, 3:10 to Yuma serves as a reason to watch a western no matter what your typical tastes are. There are small rolls that add to the fun (such as Ben Foster, Peter Fonda, Alan Tudyk, and Gretchen Mol) and a nice sense of knowing that accompanies the entire film. Knowing that the film is always going in the right direction.
