by Taylor Lieuwen
Daily Lobo
When you have an injured leg, your barn is a smoldering pile of ash and your son doesn't respect you -- pride, power and one's place in the world invariably come into play.
This is the disposition that desperate rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) finds himself in at the beginning of "3:10 to Yuma."
After more than 20 stage robberies, authorities finally catch Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) near Evans' ranch. Unfortunately, the fastest way to capture Wade is to take a multi-day ride to Contention, Ariz., and put him on a prison train to Yuma. This feat is hard to accomplish, since Wade's deft and trigger-happy band of outlaws are one step behind them all the way. Charlie Prince (Ben Foster) takes the position of temporary boss, and he's more focused than a one-eyed snake in a rattle hole. And since Evans is in need of money, he signs on with the group.
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As the band of outlaws encounter many people with all sorts of reasons for preventing their success, Prince and Evans form an uncomfortable respect for each other's steadfast set of values. The intellectual struggle between the two men comes from the fact that one will get his way and the other won't when the 3:10 leaves Contention.
This fragile depth could not be achieved if it weren't for fantastic acting. Foster gives a chilling impression of Charlie Prince, who seems to look for excuses to kill people. Crowe, like his character, seems to enjoy the fact that he is in complete control of the situation. As far as acting goes, however, Bale far surpasses these two. We see the conflict between his honor and his need to do anything to provide for his family in all of his decisions. The result is moving.
Like Evans' character, the movie is unpretentious and focuses on what is necessary. There is plenty of shooting, but the action is far from over-the-top. It sets a goal and achieves it by the end of the film through a series of calculated tremors.
Director James Mangold does a fantastic job of conveying the immense consequences of seemingly one-dimensional events. A wagon crash isn't just a wagon crash, but a loss of fortune and death. A bag of stolen money gives way to a militia more powerful than law. A half-mile walk is a way of earning a son's respect.
While some action-lovers might be disappointed by this movie's recognition of human emotion, I would counter with this wisdom from John Wayne: "Courage is being scared to death - and saddling up anyway."
"3:10 to Yuma"
Now playing
Grade: A
