The Western has returned.
After a period of drought for the genre, James Mangold’s 3:10 To Yuma brings it roaring back to life in a story about honour, sacrifice and redemption.
Oscar winner Russell Crowe stars as Ben Wade, a charismatic stagecoach robber leading a loyal gang through the Arizona wild from one heist to the next. Christian Bale plays Dan Evans, a family man struggling to make ends meet. Their paths first cross after one of Wade’s heists, when Wade steals his horses, and next at a saloon, where Evans helps the authorities collar him.
Needing the money to help keep the railroad company from encroaching on his land, Evans agrees for $200 to escort the dangerous Wade to the rail station in Contention, where he’ll take the 3:10 train to Yuma and justice. It’s a mission Evans knows could spell his demise, as Wade’s gang of gunslingers will no doubt attempt to free their leader, but between his financial woes and the fact that both his wife and eldest son have lost faith in him he feels he has no choice.
Crowe’s Wade is clever and charming, able to turn people’s opinion of him as a soulless bandit in a single conversation. He also has an artistic side, and when he's not thieving or killing he's most likely sketching. Evans isn’t buying it though and stays stubbornly focused on his task, even as the authorities along for the ride start to drop like flies. His steadfast commitment to doing the right thing intrigues Wade, and in time it becomes obvious he’s developed a grudging respect for the impecunious rancher. Even so, Wade is what he is, and he’ll do it takes to escape.
Ben Foster in 3:10 To Yuma
Based on an Elmore Leonard short story, 3:10 To Yuma was made into a film once before, in 1957, with Glenn Ford playing Ben Wade and Van Heflin in the Dan Evans role. In Walk The Line director Mangold’s updated version both Crowe and Bale fill those parts admirably, no surprise given their respective talents.
But the scene-stealer of the film is neither the Aussie, nor the Brit, but the American: Ben Foster. In a truly star-making performance, Foster eats up the screen as Wade’s right-hand man Charlie Price. As the psychotic Price, Foster appears perpetually on edge and ready to turn on his own men if they even flinch in their loyalty to Wade.
The problem I find with most Westerns is that they tend to drag. Not so with 3:10 to Yuma – there’s no excess here, just a well-paced, thoroughly engaging story building to a tense and satisfying showdown.
Review by Cate Jones
Agree? Disagree? Email Cate at criticizecate@gmail.com
3:10 to Yuma (**** out of 5)
Rated: R
Starring: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Ben Foster, Peter Fonda
Directed by: James Mangold
Written by: Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt, Derek Haas (Based on Elmore Leonard short story)
Related links: Official site, Apple trailer, IMDB page
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