In theaters. Rated R, 117 minutes.
An old fashioned Western seemed like an unusual follow-up to Walk the Line for Director James Mangold (Girl Interrupted, Copland). It proved a wise decision. This film is true to the old western template, with no gimmickry or irony to dilute the tried and true formula.
The film is an adaptation of an old Elmore Leonard short story, and tells the story of Dan Evans (Christian Bale), a struggling family man rancher and his interaction with Ben Wade (Russell Crowe), notorious bank robber. Evans is in dire straits, with his ranch about to be repossessed and no respect from the town or his 14 year old son. When he witnesses Wade's crew viciously take down a stagecoach full of money (with a gattling gun - cool scene), their journey begins. Ultimately Evans agrees to help transport the dangerous Wade to Contention, Arizona to catch the 3:10 train to the Yuma prison in order to get the money to save his ranch.
Bale's Evans is a decent man that has taken the high road and gotten nothing for it except a clean conscience. His son doesn't respect him because of his restraint and caution, and admires Wade because of his outlaw status. Crowe's Wade is a Bible quoting, bird sketching bad guy that has a conscience, in spite of himself. He is amused with Evans and respects him more and more as the film moves on. Their interaction is classic, easy money versus the high road. Well written and directed, with great performances from both leads. The tug of war for Evans' son's respect between the two is compelling and smart.
There are several great supporting performances, starting with Peter Fonda. His grisled lawman provides gravitas and humor, and he should be nominated for best supporting actor. Dallas Roberts (Sam Phillips in Walk the Line) is also great as the weasely Butterfield, as is Logan Lerman as Evans' son. Playing Wade's flamboyant and ruthless sidekick is Ben Foster, who steals just about ever scene he is in. His character is conniving and cut-throat, and his flashy clothes contribute to the performance.
The film is violent, gritty, action-packed and fun. I enjoyed it as much as any other film this year. Bale has had a pretty good 2007 with both Rescue Dawn and this - any film he is in I will see now.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
3:10 To Yuma - A-
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5 comments:
glad for the review. i wanted to see it this weekend, but couldn't work it in.
My girlfriend and I were very excited for this movie to come out, and saw it Saturday. I wholeheartedly agree with Lawyer. The movie was a fantastic western, and Bale and Crowe gave stellar performances. I wasn't really familiar with Ben Foster until this movie, but I expect big things from him. He was the perfect ruthless bad guy. A great film. I'm looking forward to seeing it again soon. There was too much to take in the first time.
Interesting behind the scenes info on this film from Slate.com:
The Unforgiven: So far, the critics are loving the Western 3:10 to Yuma, which opens this weekend and stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Lionsgate plans to present it as the first Oscar contender of the fall. But the movie has generated as many fisticuffs off-screen as on—and, according to several sources, key talent on the film fears that Lionsgate may have shot itself in the foot by releasing it now.
Things apparently got so sour that there were vying parties after the film's premiere—one thrown by financier Ryan Cavanaugh at Los Angeles restaurant Ago, and the other at Crowe's digs at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Those said to be displeased with Lionsgate's handling of the film are the Russell Crowe camp, as well as director James Mangold (Walk the Line) and his producer-spouse, Cathy Konrad. Let it be noted that none of these individuals will ever win a congeniality award.
Certainly Crowe has agendas involving his own career that may not sync up with Lionsgate's interests. He's coming off the exceedingly dreadful A Good Year and another disappointing performer, Cinderella Man, before that. So he's looking for a hit. He and his advisers believe that hit will be American Gangster, an upcoming Universal film that pairs him with Denzel Washington. (We're told Universal will run an Oscar campaign for Crowe in the best supporting actor category.) Crowe did not want to muddy the waters by opening 3:10 to Yuma too close to American Gangster's release on Nov. 2. His camp thought the film should be moved to next year—and promised that the star would be more cooperative in promoting it if Lionsgate agreed. But Lionsgate did not.
Lionsgate is a small company that butters its bread with horror fare like Hostel. But it can utter one word in response to naysayers who complain that it doesn't know how to handle a quality film like 3:10 to Yuma. That word is Crash—a movie Lionsgate guided to an Oscar victory against all odds.
Whether the company has made a wise move or blown it by opening 3:10 to Yuma this weekend will become apparent with time. Certainly scheduling movies in this crowded marketplace isn't easy. But it's also well-known that the weekend after Labor Day is a tough time to open a movie—especially a serious one. Parents are focused on getting the kids back to school. Some believe that people are not quite in the mood for somber fare when they're coping with the end of summer. And it's tough to book stars on the talk-show circuit in the days leading up to the holiday weekend, when the programs tend to be in repeats.
Originally, Lionsgate set the movie for an October release. Some felt that didn't leave enough space before American Gangster—there would be competing ads featuring Crowe, and Universal would certainly outspend Lionsgate by a big margin. But Lionsgate says it was focused on coming out before another Western, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. That film, starring Brad Pitt, will start rolling into theaters on Sept. 21. With that and a whole passel of other Oscar-contender wannabes set to open in the weeks ahead, Lionsgate's Tom Ortenberg says that he saw an advantage in being the first one out of the box. He acknowledges, however, that trying the weekend after Labor Day was "a bold move."
One result is that 3:10 to Yuma had to forget about the Toronto Film Festival, while Brad Pitt is getting press in Venice and giving the Jesse James movie—likely to be another critical darling—a nice push. That might not help 3:10 to Yuma in the awards arena. The talent associated with 3:10 to Yuma also believes the film is far more commercial than Jesse James but that the date will damage it at the box office, too.
Apparently, once Lionsgate moved the date, everything had to be done in a hurry. Crowe was given an unusually small selection of photos to approve for the poster and rejected all of them (one of our sources says he thought they made him look fat). But those on his side say the studio didn't offer enough choices and Crowe was merely exercising a routine movie-star prerogative. Finally, an acceptable option was proffered.
But Mangold et al. apparently were fuming that Lionsgate left them out of the loop on various decisions. "They've had a big-studio experience with Walk the Line—they know what it means to be included in the process," says a source inside the situation. "And Lionsgate isn't used to dealing with filmmakers like that." Lionsgate, says this person, is very comfortable drawing young men to Eli Roth movies, but not with bringing along a more mature movie like 3:10 to Yuma. Ortenberg counters that the 3:10 to Yuma campaign "will go down as one of the best of the year."
watched this one last night. A- for me as well. there is a quiet desperation in Bale's character that becomes more palpable as the film progresses. and a little tug-of-war as to what is actually driving Bale forward. but, as you mention the interplay betweeen Crowe and Bale is as good as any i've seen in a while. Crowe private life and persona annoys me, but there's no doubt he's a fine actor.
Great movie (A-). Bale's performance is superb. Mangold's picked up alot of skill (and balls) in the last 10 years.
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