“3:10 to Yuma” is Right on Time
“3:10 to Yuma” takes a broken-down genre, hitches it to the back of a stagecoach and takes off running.
“3:10” is the story of a poor rancher named Dan Evans, played by Christian Bale (“Batman Begins”). Dan is down on his luck. It seems that God has stacked the deck against him. Having lost his leg in the Civil War (where he was a sharpshooter for the Northern Army), he now has to live in a bone-dry climate because his youngest son has tuberculosis. And to top it all off, the local debt collector burns down Dan’s barn to try to scare him off his land because the railroad is coming through, and he obviously wants to take Dan’s land away from him.
The other main character is a blood-thirsty, but oddly civil, outlaw named Ben Wade, played by Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”). Ben and his gang rob stagecoach after stagecoach and become somewhat of a legend. His gun, “The Hand of God,” is as infamous as he is. Even Dan’s son reads dime novels written about Wade and his exploits.
When Wade is caught, a series of circumstances throws Dan into the mix of men that are obligated, by money of course, to take Mr. Wade to a city called Contention. There they will put Wade on the 3:10 train to Yuma Prison.
The plot itself doesn’t make much sense. I mean, where’s the sense in taking America’s most wanted criminal across the desert with only five men, while Ben Wade’s entire gang is following them? But, in this movie (and any other Western for that matter), the plot really doesn’t mean anything. Westerns have always been a tale of morality. They show how even in a lawless land, there can be values and morals. And even against the greatest of odds, those morals and values will always conquer.
Crowe and Bale pull off the dialogue in this movie with success. Their conversations with one another are alone worth the price of admission. Throw in a great performance by Ben Foster (“Hostage”) as Charlie Prince, Ben Wade’s right hand man, and this movie is one to see.
When you go, because you definitely should go, pay attention to every conversation had between Dan and Ben. Because you will find out that “3:10” is a fantastic ride through the human conscience.
-Aaron.Peck@aggiemail.usu.edu