Episode 37.5 - 3:10 to Yuma Review 9/10

3:10 to Yuma - 2007 - James Mangold

Western films tend to get a pretty bad rap because back in the day when they were popular (yes, they were…somewhere…) they were all provocative portrayals of the good, the bad, and the ugly and people went crazy for that shit until they started realizing that they were all provocative portrayals of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and the genre kinda died down because everyone was getting bored. Granted, some good ones trickled through like Tombstone and Unforgiven and lately they’ve been on the rise again with Rango (yeah, kids western, don’t care), True Grit (yeah, remake, don’t care), and Cowboys vs. Aliens (yeah, don’t care…), it just has struggled with a modern mainstream audience. This sucks because when great movies do come along, like 3:10 to Yuma, it’s hard to see it as a good action flick before saying “oh, I’m not really into Westerns.”

But alas, here is a stunning film that doesn’t overdo anything, knows that it doesn’t have to, and shines all the way through with not so much that epic story that makes someone great, but the great story that makes someone epic. Your hero today is Dan Evans (Christian Bale), a civil war hero/rancher in debt who falls into the fortunate position to join up with the posse that captured the legendary Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and transport him to the 3:10 train to Yuma Prison for a cool, much needed $200. No, he’s not just doing this because “he’s that guy,” he’s doing this for the money and for redemption as he feels he has failed as a husband to provide for his family (because he has) and has failed as a man because he hasn’t made anything of himself ever since the war (because he hasn’t). He’s not looking to be remembered as a hero, but as a strong, brave man who never gave up even under overwhelming odds, which is exactly what he gets as the escort of the famous gang leader pits him against slave owners, Wade’s crew, stubborn Indians, and an entire town lookin’ for easy cash.

The beauty of this film doesn’t come from the journey so much as the relationship and respect that develops between Wade and Evans. Despite being in handcuffs, Wade still feels that he’s above the law, which he has a right to because he’s lived above it for so long it’s become the only thing he knows how to do. He’s coldhearted and ruthless, but carefree about his scenario because he has absolute confidence that he’ll be free soon enough. However, the more he learns about Evans and why he’s coming along on this mindless suicide mission, the more he understands and sympathizes with him to the point where he’s almost secretly rooting for him as Evans’s freedom from his defeats is more important than Wade’s freedom from Evans.

3:10 to Yuma is not a film about getting a man to a train, it’s about getting a man to his salvation, to do that one thing that when he’s buried, people will say “here lies a strong, brave man who never gave up even under overwhelming odds” instead of “here lies a man buried in as much debt as dirt, who failed as a husband and…oh wait, there’s nobody here. Ah fuck it.” There’s no outlandish gunbattles, this doesn’t go all high noon on us or throw some curveball that forces us to re-evaluate everything. This is one man looking, fighting for redemption for his own failures, simple failures, ones that plague men daily and this movie does a stunning job of having every challenge he faces make the final reward so meaningful, throwing us an ending sequence that is so touching and heartfelt I literally sat back and said “wow. That was incredible.”

When your adversary commends you on the masterful work you did taking him down so far, then carries you the final step of the way out of sheer respect for the man you are, that, my friends, is perfection. Sheer perfection.

3:10 to Yuma does not get sheer perfection on all counts however. I feel it missed some key developmental opportunities (like, blatantly ignored them out of ignorance) and that just left a bad taste in mouth. Don’t try to make us care about a character if you’re not going to follow through. Oh well, near perfect 9 dustbusters out of 10. Fantastic, fantastic watch that can right-quick get you out of that whole “oh, I’m not really into Westerns” bullshit mentality.