3:10 to Yuma Review
by samseescinema (sammeriam AT comcast DOT net)September 11th, 2007
3:10 to Yuma
reviewed by Samuel Osborn
Director: James Mangold
Cast: Christian Bale, Russell Crowe
Screenplay: Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt, Derek Haas (based on the short story by Elmore Leonard)
MPAA Classification: R
Westerns are a tough gig these days. Between a lack of popular interest and virtually no attention to the time period in recent pop culture (besides, one can argue, HBO's Deadwood), box office returns are a fool's game. It's a real challenge recalling a hit Western since, oh say, Dances with Wolves. And though some words have been exchanged over upcoming films like The Assassination of Jesse James, No Country for Old Men, and James Mangold's own entry, 3:10 to Yuma, none are looking to have any of the popular viscosity needed to revitalize the genre. No Country for Old Men technically isn't even a Western since its set in modern times when gunslingers have been replaced by the FBI. And The Assassination of Jesse James seems poised for failure after reports of studio disappointment with the original cut, a three hour talkie boredom that's being cut down by Brad Pitt himself as we speak. That leaves only 3:10 to Yuma. And though it would be a tough argument accusing the film of being boring--as it's rife with explosions, gunplay and stabbings-the lead character, Christian Bale's Dan Evans, is frustratingly colorless. He's so dull, in fact, that he blankets this otherwise vibrant Western romp with a layer of pallid neutrality.
Luckily Dan Evans is not the only character written into the script, which is based off a short story by novelist Elmore Leonard. Russell Crowe plays the notorious villain Ben Wade, resignedly evil in the polite, upstanding Hannibal Lector sort of way; also a charmer and a thief of the land-mongering Pinkertons. Crowe dons his most impressive arrogance fittingly for the role, growling his lines and looking like an intimidating cross between King Leonidas from 300 and Crocodile Dundee. The grim absurdity works well; so well that he fast eclipses Bale's protagonist and fills in as 3:10 to Yuma's requisite hero figure.
Wade's reign of twenty-two robberies is thwarted by Mr. Evans (Christian Bale), a farmer low on his luck and even lower on money for his family of four. William (Logan Herman), his headstrong fourteen year-old son, sees his dad as a broken, play-by-the-rules loser. And as much as we want Dan to rub his loudmouthed brat's nose in his old man's sweaty, testosterone-filled glory, 3:10 only proves that little Willy's right. His dad kinda does suck.
But such is not the case early on when Dan is hired for two-hundred dollars to escort Wade across the state to the 3:10 train to Yuma prison. Him and a tiny band of escorts hurry to beat Wade's gang who aim to intercept the caravan and bust their leader free. Dan and his crew put on a show of model incompetence throughout their journey, allowing Wade to whittle their numbers one by one, making his continuous escape attempts easier and more successful.
These sequences are spaced well enough apart, keeping the pace at a sturdy saunter as any good Western should. Director James Mangold understands this convention of near-slowness well. The tumbleweed atmosphere and ghost town sets have their required room to breath. But Mangold has always been a strong director (Girl, Interrupted, Identity, Walk the Line) and his muscular images and solid pace-work are hardly worth mentioning. It's the screenplay that's at fault here. And though I'll admit to not having read Mr. Leonard's source material, I find it hard to believe that the novelist (a veteran of such adaptations as Jackie Brown and Get Shorty) would write such a bland, loveless character into his story's lead role. Mr. Bale is not to blame. It's the screenwriters at fault here. Dan Evans is permanently on the precipice of being a hero. He's quiet, dignified, strong enough. That's not the issue. It's as though he looks over the cliff of heroics and turns back and shakes his head no. He seems too lazy to make that leap. His reluctance cripples 3:10 to Yuma. What's exciting is empty. And emptiness won't rebirth a dying genre. Sorry, Westerns.
Samuel Osborn
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