Interesting Themes, But Very Sparse Acting

Rating: 6/10 (12 March 2017)

In the old heyday of Western films, the 1960s, the genre was categorized by the panache of John Wayne, who came into town with his six-shooters blazing and cleaned up one town after another of evil-doers. Lately, however, with the Western genre on the very fringe of Hollywood, directors tackling this specific art form have taken a different approach. Instead of the "Duke model", the focus is shifted towards the gritty realism of the time period.
This film continues that realism tradition. When Dan Evans (Christian Bale), a salt-of-the-Earth sharecropper just trying to eek out a decent living for his family, volunteers his services to make sure the seedy criminal Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) catches the 3:10 train to Yuma, the journey turns out to reveal much more about each character. While Evans struggles to uphold the law at all times and still keep some semblance of his manhood, Wade begins to realize that perhaps Ben is fighting for the nobler cause. These themes are slowly and carefully explored over the course of the film, and by and large are very interesting.
However, the lack of great acting (or, more specifically, the lack of opportunities for great acting to shine) really bogs this movie down. I know that Bale and Crowe are top-notch actors, but they really aren't given a chance to take center stage. Bale's character is nearly silent the entire film, while Crowe has a few great moments but ultimately isn't fleshed out enough to truly believe/understand the film's conclusion. Only Logan Lerman, playing the part of Dan Evans' son William, truly shines in his role.
Thus, while the themes in the film are rather interesting, the action backing them up is extremely lacking. If you are a fan of the new "minimalist" Western genre, I would suggest Robert Duvall's "Broken Trail" over this film, as you will find it much easier to understand the issues that men in the Old West faced.