3:10 to Yuma

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I read the other day that they are remaking the 1957 western. Russell Crowe will play the Glenn Ford part and Christian Bale will play the Van Heflin role. It is a lean pyschological suspense tale based on a story by Elmore Leonard.

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It looks right in black-and-white. The landscape is dry and bleak from a long drought. As the story progresses it seems that the people living here deserve these conditions -- their morals seem bankrupt and ever-changing.

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An outlaw, Ben Wade, is captured after a stagecoach robbery and murder. The stage owner offers $200 to any man who will help take the outlaw to the authorities to Yuma. A struggling rancher, Dan Evans, takes the job. The money will purchase six-months worth of water rights for his dying cattle.

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Part of the story is traditional. Will the Wade's gang break him free? Will Evans prevail and deliver the outlaw to the authorities?

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What isn't traditional is the by-play between Wade and Evans. The outlaw plays a mind game with the rancher. Charming one moment, blunt the next. You can see Evans struggling within himself. At first, he takes the job for the money but it becomes more than that. He has to do the right thing even if he is killed attempting to do it.

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The dialogue is sharp and cool. I haven't read the Leonard story but I have to wonder how much was his. Evans talks to his wife about how good things will be once it rains and their land turns green. "Maybe," he says, "we won't be so tired all the time." One line can speak volumes. Later Wade attempts to bribe Evans and when it doesn't work he turns cruel. "Your wife was a beautiful woman, wasn't she? Until she met you." The remark cuts like a knife and the pain on Evans' face is incredible.

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While the ending is a little weak in some aspects, it still rings true for the characters. This is a good movie. I truly wonder if the remake can be half as good. I also wonder why two non-Americans were cast in the lead roles for a western. Then again, American actors have played every nationality around the globe. I'll shut up now.