Is the western dead? After walking out of 3:10 I issue a categorical no. What is the essence of a man? What makes one man a coward and another a hero? What is a hero? When is the line crossed between being a hero and being reckless? These are some of the overarching questions that are posed to the audience in this stylish western made by “I Walk the Line” director James Mangold. The plot is easy enough. Christian Bale plays Dan Evans, a good man injured in the civil war in such a way that not only took his leg but didn’t even leave him with a good story to tell about how it happened. He is losing his ranch to “progress” and, more importantly, he is losing the respect of his family. Enter Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) a famous outlaw who has been terrorizing the West and more specifically the Southern Pacific railroad in a gaggle of violent stage coach robberies. He is a quick draw with a quick tongue and Crowe plays the learned villain to the tee. Long story short- Crow is captured and a hapless posse must put him on the 3:10 to Yuma where he is sure to meet the hangman’s noose (as sure as God’s vengeance). The story follows some of the typical westerns (this is a remake). You have your dirty quick draw outlaws, your cliché wielding good guys (a great supporting role by Peter Fonda) and a few apaches lurking in the night (lest we forget about the real bad guys!)
The story is about the journey to Yuma but also the change in Ben Wade and Dan Evans. There is no black and white in the hearts of men, not even in the Wild West. Wade professes to be a bad man and makes no bones about his lot in life. The audience, however, isn’t quite convinced he is all bad. He is a killer and his gun may work faster than the decision process in who dies, but when you are an outlaw, regret isn’t a viable afterthought. Evans sets out on the journey to make some money in order to keep his ranch from going under (but isn’t that the pretence to any hero’s story?) Evans moves like an old locomotive building steam until his fate plays out in the final real. And in then end, for a good man, it’s never about the money.
In the end the movie is about two men with different values who meet in the middle. It is also about the length a man will go to be remembered well. There is a line in the movie towards the end where Evans tells his son all he needs to know about the kind of man his father is. It’s the best line uttered in a Western since 92’s Unforgiven and it reveals why Evans does what he does. Or maybe, more globally, why some men do what they do.
Walking out of 3:10 my wife said, “that was just ok”, I nodded, shook my head slightly and walked the long road back to wedded bliss; everyone has their hangman’s noose.
***1/2 -DMC
