3:10 to Yuma

This is not a proper review, but I needed to get it out there...


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See This One. This movie is a tour de force for Crowe and Bale and it's a great example of the modern Western--respectful of the Old style (good guys are good, bad guys are bad) but raw like the more modern Westerns (e.g. Unforgiven, Open Range). Guys and gals will both like it.

I think the key to understanding this movie is the color of Ben Wade's horse. It's black. Which makes him a Black Rider. This doesn't mean that Daniel Evan is a hobbit, but the whole movie makes sense if you interpret Wade as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. This isn't as much of a stretch as it sounds–Pale Rider and Tombstone specifically quote the Book of Revelation and when you look at the movie through this lens, things start to fall into place.

Image via WikipediaFirst, biblically, the Black Rider represents famine/drought. This is what Evans is living through on his ranch. Second, the symbol of the Black Rider is scales, as in justice's scales. Third, the name "Daniel" means "God is my judge". If you recall, in the scene where Evans explains to his wife why he's going, he says "I've been standing on one leg waiting for God to send a blessing and this is all I've got." A man with one leg (lost ignobly) is off-balance–to be redeemed, he needs to get even (Evan). Finally, the name of the gun is "the Hand of God" and Wade warns that it's cursed–anyone other than it's rightful owner can't handle it. I take this to mean that Wade, though a "villain" is really God's agent in the movie. Also, the name Ben could be short for Benjamin which means "son of my right hand".

UPDATE: I just watched this again last night with my 8 and 10 year olds (the slightly sanitized TV version, mind you) and the 8 year old says, "Ben Wade=been weighed. Get it?" If it was a snake it would've bit me.

Consider this: Wade never kills an innocent person throughout the movie. The only two possible exceptions (Fonda and the other Pinkerton) are ruled out by the account of the Indian massacre and even then it wasn't until after Fonda shows his utter lack of remorse that he's finally finished off.

Butterfield: Twenty-two robberies, over four hundred thousand dollars in losses.
Ben Wade: Ya'll notice he didn't mention any of the lives I've taken?

All the other innocents who die in the movie are either killed by Wade's men, who display an almost fundamentalist fervor for their boss (as if they were doing the Lord's work of Vengeance on his behalf) or die through an act of self-sacrifice. When he kills off his own gang, there is a specific allusion to the scripture passage quoted by Wade earlier in the movie, namely that God judges the heart of a man (Charlie Prince is shot, by the Hand of God, through the heart).

Dan Evans: You're so sure that your crew's comin' to get you?
Byron McElroy: They're lost without him, like a pack of dogs without a master.
Ben Wade: Sure as God's vengeance, they're comin'.

This interpretation also makes sense of Wade's enigmatic comment about busting out of Hell as soon as he gets there (God's agent gets a get out of jail free card).

Ultimately, Wade's helping Evan deliver Wade to the 3:10 train to Yuma, restores balance to Daniel's life and allows for justice to be served on the Evan ranch.

One last thing, Revelation 3:10 (NIV) reads: "Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth." I think it's an interesting passage in light of the movie. Admitedly, it's a bit of a stretch to make it work with this ending, but I believe One last thing, Revelation 3:10 (NIV) reads: "Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth." I think it's an interesting passage in light of the movie. Admitedly, it's a bit of a stretch to make it work with this ending, but I believe the original movie didn't have Evan die at the end.