3:10 to Yuma
Of the many things James Mangold (continuing to make me reconsider “Cop Land” between this, 2005 Best Picture nominee “Walk the Line,” and “Girl, Interrupted”) does with this second adaptation of the short story by pulp master Elmore Leonard, whose sly spirit is carried solidly in the screenplay by Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt & Derek Haas, is that he shows that no genre really dies- it just dries up until the next person can make it bloom again. People said how the Western was dying as Kevin Costner made “Dances With Wolves” and Clint Eastwood made “Unforgiven” (not because those are bad films, just that those were the last major contributions to the genre). And while films such as “Texas Rangers” and “The Quick and the Dead” don’t help prove otherwise, how does one account, then, for gems like “Tombstone” or last year’s “The Proposition,” which took different, but no less fascinating, roads to explore the moral codes of the Old West?
Mangold’s “3:10 to Yuma,” though not quite a “prestige film” (though it’s not without Oscar-worthy merits, namely in acting and in Marco Beltrami’s moody score), is definitely an entertaining one, worthy of mention with the latter films. A little long in the tooth at just over two hours, “3:10 to Yuma” remains compelling as it tells the story of how rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale, dropping the ambiguity of “Batman Begins,” “The Prestige,” and “Rescue Dawn” to play a genuine good guy), in need of money to save his ranch and hold his family together, volunteers to get sadistic robber Ben Wade (Russell Crowe, reminding people of his “L.A. Confidential” badassness after “decent man” roles in “Cinderella Man,” “A Beautiful Mind,” and “A Good Year”) on board the next train to Yuma Prison. Originally a part of a five-man outfit, by the time it’s time to get Wade to the station. However, death and cowardice (for Wade’s ruthless gang has come after him) have left only Dan- with a bad leg from the Civil War- to see to the task.
The notion that “Couldn’t Wade just overtake Dan, and ride off with his gang?” will cross many viewer’s minds, especially if they’re unfamiliar with the genre. Such is the code of the Old West, however, that after three days travels, Wade and Evans inexplicably bond in a way that makes Wade respectful of Evans’ unwavering commitment to his duty that he’ll allow him the chance to make that 3:10 train or die trying. Or, he’s just a cold enough of a bastard to let Evans go into a lose-lose situation as the entire town opens fire on them. Regardless of what it is, Mangold, Bale, and Crowe make the classic Western feel alive again, and in a way, one laments the passing of its’ unique moral code. Or maybe one just wishes it could make a return to contemporary action films.
