Reincarnation is a big, huge, enormous double-edged sword. If we, as humans, are good, God fearing and law- abiding humans, we get to come back to the earth a little better off than when we left it, and if not-well, let’s hope it’s not too nasty to be a cockroach.
The same idea applies to movies. A thematic masterpiece-or just a good movie-dies from the silver screen and comes reborn like the phoenix onto Cinemax, HBO, basic cable, collectors’ and anniversary edition DVDs across the country and around the world, and even back to the multiplexes (e.g. “Star Wars”). History, audiences, and the unfortunate source studio forget the other kind of film as quickly as possible. Remember “Catwoman?” I rest my case.
A prime example of the former is Delmer Dave’s 1957 western “3:10 to Yuma.” After watching James Mangold’s remake, it’s more than obvious that Mr. Dave’s original had some good karma waiting in the wings.
Based both on Dave’s original and the Elmore Leonard short story “3:10 to Yuma” that spawned both versions, Mangold’s centers on Dan Evans (Christian Bale of “The Prestige;” “Batman Begins;” Steven Spielberg’s “Empire of the Sun;” and the upcoming Batman sequel “The Dark Knight”) and Ben Wade (Russell Crowe of “Gladiator,” “A Beautiful Mind,” and Ridley Scott’s upcoming “American Gangster”). Their story is simple enough: Evans, a down-on-his-luck rancher, assists in the arrest of master robber Wade and volunteers-along with a landlord’s lackey, a doctor, a banker and his employee (both with Wade-aimed grudges)-to bring the thief to the 3:10 train ride to the Yuma prison.
The story may be straightforward, but the characters are deliciously-twisty tumbleweeds. Even Ben Foster’s marvelously realized Charlie Prince, appearing only evil and psychotic but displaying and random streaks of loyalty. They play over the spacious fields of screen and you can never catch who they are until the bitter end.
Bale and Crowe deserve much of the credit for this, as do the writers and director Mangold, helming captain of “Walk the Line” and “Girl, Interrupted.” Crowe plays his villain well enough that I repeatedly found myself questioning his evil. A better title would be anti-villain, since, at times, the oft-charming Wade commits crime for amusement, other times to defend someone’s good name or his own emotions.
Bale plays Dan Evans-with equal or even better skill than Crowe musters for his part. Evans is a man beaten by the world. He has no money, no respect from himself or his family, performed adequately by Gretchen Mol, Logan Lerman, and Benjamin Petry, and only one leg-how he lost it is a mysterious, guarded tale. A memorable scene has Evans stating, “I’ve been standing on one leg for three years waiting for God to give me a break. He hasn’t heard me yet.” Despite his faltering faith and meager existence he still does what he knows in heart is good and right. It’s a most amazing quality.
That quality leads to the best facet of the story: Its subtext. Despite its simple plot, “3:10 to Yuma” sparkles in its deep thematic content brought to the forefront by the combination of rich dialogue and the actors’ exquisite pretend.
When Crowe and Bale come together on screen you can see they each want what the other has. Evans wants Crowe’s money Wade wants a family. Thus the questions arise: What in this world is honorable? What is honored? How far do humans go to get what they want?
Mangold and company never fully answer the question for us, but by the finish we can discern how the characters would respond.
A last note of praise must go to cinematographer Phedon Papamichael and composer Marco Beltrami, who respectively capture the wide freedom of nature’s expanse and the confinement of walls with a camera. This evokes quiet, strong emotions, reminders of the toil of life and battle in the old West with sound.
I predict this movie is going to meet up with a few extra lives-and a couple of guys named Oscar too.
Leave a Reply