Good Flick, Morally Confused

Rating: 7/10 (14 September 2007)

3:10 to Yuma is a great genre picture with superb acting. This combo doesn't happen often. Crowe and Bale offer a weight and subtly that are commonly absent from recent Hollywood films. Because of this craftsmanship, the film is freed to be simple; an essential element to a good Western. 3:10 doesn't need, or attempt, to pad the movie with complicated action scenes or superfluous exposition. Instead it is driven by acting talent and the uncomplicated tale of a wronged ranger trying to do the right thing when no one else will.
The "right thing", however, is confused by the movie's relativistic moral compass. As a result, the traditional good guys  the noble avenger and the stagecoach escort  are an embittered anti-theist (Bale) and a Bible-reading, hypocrite (Peter Fonda). The moral landscape becomes even bumpier when Crowe's traditional bad guy  the robber  quotes Bible verses and is tacitly labeled the hero by the film's structure and supporting characters. This moral confusion and the film's efforts to compensate with Hollywood star charisma is the most glaring sign of the film's post-modernity and why 3:10 to Yuma sends the very un-western message that virtuous ambiguity can save the day.
Ironically, in the film's third act, the broken compass that guides the film is traded for the Judeo-Christian guide -- self-sacrifice and betterment of community -- in order to give the film the true Western treatment. The filmmakers seemed to realize a relativistic world view can only guide one so far. In 3:10's case (and maybe in life), it can get you to the final moments, but no one can successfully ride off into the sunset without absolute Truth.