message in the movies By Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

           
3:10 to Yuma Rated R
Directed by James Mangold.  Starring Russell Crowe, Christian Bale

Photos © Lionsgate Pictures

3:10 to Yuma is a very good remake of a very good Western from 1957, which is a very good reason to see it.  Fifty years ago there was a great deal of soul searching going on in America following The Second World War, and the two genres that seemed best suited to psychological reflection were the film noir and the western.  When you’ve had a chance to survive ultimate evil, it is only natural to ponder the nature of good and evil itself.  The events of September 11, 2001 seem to have ushered in another cycle of introspection and moral reflection.  This movie tells a fairly simple story about Dan Evans (Bale) a wounded Civil War veteran and struggling rancher who joins a posse to transport Ben Wade (Crowe), a famous robber, to the town of Contention, Arizona, to board that 3:10 p.m. train to Yuma.  But the simple plot line is informed by the cast of characters that inhabit this film.  Both members of the posse and Ben Wade’s gang include reactive sorts who are inclined to shoot first, ask questions later, and draw lines in the sand.  Ben Wade is so famous, he is the star of dime novels; Dan Evans is so insecure, part of his motivation to get involved is to prove to his wife and son that he is still a strong leader.  These two men eventually come to a place of mutual understanding that is the emotional payoff of the movie.  Crowe and Bale, from New Zealand and Wales, are two of the best actors working today, and it’s a real treat to watch them onscreen together.  There’s a fine supporting cast, as well, which includes Peter Fonda and Ben Foster, and beautifully edited action sequences.  This is an entertaining and thoughtful movie, the first fruit of what looks like a promising fall crop of films.

Pitchfork Rating: Three halos. (A character-driven western that is also a meditation of sorts about what makes a villain and what makes a hero.)  Two pitchforks.  (Quite a bit of gun violence, mild nudity and some cussin’.)

 

 

 

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