3:10 TO YUMA :: Better, Worse Than Expected
Buy from Amazon (I will receive a small consideration).
Okay, so some mysterious stomach agitation has kept me out of work today, and likely tomorrow as well. The less said the better, BUT I've spent most of the day on the couch, and just finished watching 3:10 To Yuma courtesy of my good friends over at Netflix.
I'm not particularly good at or interested in writing reviews, so I'll skip all that, except to say that I liked it, and it is EXACTLY as good as a movie needs to be in order to rent it. Like most westerns, it was probably better on the big screen, but the big screen is mondo pricey.
Two things were interesting about this movie, besides the regular stuff (story, acting, etc.):
1) Like most MODERN westerns, everything was a little too clean, too shiny. Apparently tough guys in the Old West kept their beards trimmed
very neatly, pretty much everybody wore bowler hats, and everyone has teeth like a dental model's. I still think that the real reason Deadwood was such a big hit was that the Old West in Deadwood was beyond nasty; it was filthy. Disgusting, really.
2) Unlike most modern westerns, and especially curious in spite of #1 above, is the fact that the movie did an incredible job of creating a sense of menace to the main character and his family. While he (Christian Bale) never comes across as anything other than capable, you also never lose the feeling that he and his family are in DANGER. When violence breaks out there's actually a feeling of drama--you're actually concerned not only that something will happen to Christian Bale, but concerned over the fact that freaking guns are going off everywhere and it's totally screwed up. Imagine if someone--anyone--started shooting outside of your window right now; you'd be telling the story for the rest of your life. Violence is awful and changes people's lives, and movies which trade in violence often forget how dramatic it can be.
THIS was the real saving grace of this movie. It's easy to forget that real drama is the backbone of storytelling: the build and release of tension is the ebb and flow that creates a feeling of reality in a story. Just as your life moves and shifts from point to point, often without reason or explanation--mirroring this sloppy reality is key to great storytelling.
Good movie though. Christian Bale: surprisingly good. Russell Crowe? Who keeps hiring this guy?
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