The Ending of This Film is Christian Bale’s Best Ever (And No It’s Not ‘The Dark Knight’)
If you’re watching a Christian Bale movie, chances are that you’ll probably be engaged from start to finish. Most of Bale’s films usually pack a hell of an ending, whether it’s the mind-blowing final moments of The Prestige or Patrick Bateman’s bleak realization that caps off American Psycho. But if there’s one Bale-led film that delivers with its ending, it’s 3:10 to Yuma. A remake of the classic 1957 Western, 3:10 to Yuma keeps the same basic story as its predecessor: rancher Dan Evans (Bale), struggling to pay his debts, stumbles upon a robbery being conducted by legendary thief Ben Wade (Russell Crowe). When Wade is captured, Evans requests to be part of the posse that escorts him on a train ride to the Yuma Prison. But the journey to the train is fraught with danger, and has an ending that fans of the original 3:10 to Yuma probably wouldn’t expect.
Christian Bale’s ‘3:10 to Yuma’ Departs From the Original Western in One Major Way
Both versions of 3:10 to Yuma involve Dan’s posse encountering obstacles that include Wade’s gang, who are attempting to spring him from captivity. Eventually, they make it to the train station but are ambushed by the outlaws, only for Wade to turn and gun down his fellow outlaws since he bonded with Evans. Where the 2007 version breaks from its predecessor is Dan’s fate: he’s shot in the back once he gets to the train by Wade’s right-hand man, Charlie Prince (Ben Foster). There are multiple deaths throughout 3:10 to Yuma, but Dan keeps soldiering through. It’s a sharp divergence from the 1957 version, where Dan lived to return to his family, but it also continues a trend of James Mangold‘s, in which he zigs where the story is expected to zag. There are multiple deaths throughout 3:10 to Yuma, but Dan keeps soldiering through; since he is the protagonist, no one’s expecting him to get shot, and that’s what makes Mangold’s take on 3:10 to Yuma stand out.
Dan’s death also serves as the culmination of the strange dynamic he’s fostered with Wade. The two come to blows when Wade makes a lewd comment about Dan’s life, but otherwise they’re completely honest with each other. This shapes what’s perhaps the best scene in the film, when Dan confesses to Wade that the loss of his leg was due to his retreat from a battle during the Civil War. The fact that he hasn’t told this to anyone else other than Wade leads to a fundamental shift between the two, and explains why Wade guns down his gang. Though he’s a self-confessed murderer and thief, he at least has respect for Dan (or at least enough respect to board a train to a prison he’s broken out of twice and shoot down his own gang). Crowe doesn’t utter a single word, but instead lets his eyes tell the tale. His eyes are filled with enough grief and rage to last a lifetime, meaning that Charlie and the rest of his gang aren’t long for this world.
‘3:10 to Yuma’s Final Moments Will Emotionally Wreck You
While Dan claims to be escorting Wade to the train purely for money, there’s another reason: he wants the respect of his son William (Logan Lerman). William seems to have very little — if any — respect for his father, even going as far as saying to Dan at one point, “I ain’t ever walking in your shoes.” But despite this, William is utterly shocked when Charlie shoots Dan, and foregoes a clear shot at Wade to comfort his father in his dying moments. It’s a heartwrenching moment, only made more heartwrenching by Lerman and Bale’s performances.
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Lerman’s delivery, in which his eyes tear up and he softly says “Pa…?”, is a reminder that he is one of the most underrated actors in the business. Bale, on the other hand, takes a page from Crowe’s book and lets his eyes showcase a fleeting note of happiness before glassing over. In a bitterly ironic way, Dan’s death gives the Evans men what they desire: Dan finally gains a measure of bravery, while William understands that his father was simply a man trying his best to take care of his family. 3:10 to Yuma didn’t pull any punches with its ending, and that helped cement its standing as one of the best Westerns of the modern era.
