Yuma Has Unexpected Depth

Rating: 9/10 (1 February 2008)

Life has not been easy for Dan Evans. He fought in the Civil War and lost his foot. He settled down on a ranch, then got hit with a drought. He has a family, but one of his sons has tuberculosis, the other seems to hate his guts, and his wife no longer has faith in his ability to provide for them all. And then someone burns his barn down. Evans is a man who is beat down by the world every day. He is a failure in his son's eyes because he is not a war hero and he is not a dashing rogue like he reads about in his dime store novels. This character, played solidly by Christian Bale, has one of the best setups I've seen recently - a guy who is ripe for change in his life.
Change comes in the form of Ben Wade (Russel Crowe), a dashing rogue just like the kind Dan's son reads about. Ben and Dan cross paths as the rancher is collecting his cows that were scattered by the barn burners. Ben proves to be a brutal man, but fair. He allows Dan to get his cattle, but relocates his horse so he can't fetch the law. Back in town, after Ben has been cornered in a saloon and placed under arrest, Dan offers to get Ben on the train to prison in exchange for enough money to save his family from all kinds of trouble.
This is a thrilling ride, full of shootouts and horse chases through the desert, but it thankfully stays focused on the characters in the story. Ben Wade is a conflicted character from the outset. We first see him drawing a sketch of a hawk - a small hint that maybe he was never meant to be the leader of a gang. (I gather that not many thieves back then had much artistic ability.) After he's caught, he even shows sympathy for Dan's plight, though that doesn't stop him from trying to get away when he can.
Like High Noon, this western is a story about a desperate man trying to do the right thing, even if it's also the foolish thing. You can't call Dan a coward and you can't call him stupid, either. Every step he takes to accomplish his mission is thought out and nothing depends on luck. One of the best new westerns in years, up there with Unforgiven, Open Range, and The Quick and the Dead.
(Just kidding about that last one...) http://www.movieswithmark.com