"3:10 to Yuma" Character Analysis

In 3:10 to Yuma, there are two characters in which the film focuses on. These two characters are outlaw Ben Wade, played by Russell Crowe; and rancher Dan Evans, played by Christian Bale. At first, it would appear that these two characters have nothing in common. Ben Wade is the nastiest outlaw alive and robs banks, stagecoaches, and trains. On the other hand, Dan Evans is a hard working rancher who attempts to give his family the best life he possibly can.



Let’s start off with Ben Wade. He is played up by the newspapers and authors as the most dangerous man to walk the face of the earth. While he is extremely dangerous there is also an extremely sensitive side to him. He enjoys drawing, and not only drawing, but drawing subtle things. The first drawing in which we are introduced is a hawk perched up on a branch. The second drawing we are introduced to is the back of a naked woman. The final drawing we are introduced to is Dan sitting in a chair. All of these represent moments of subtlety and shows us another side of Ben Wade that the general public is never shown nor knows it exists. The side that does exist to the public is the gun slinging side for which he was nicknamed “The Hand of God”.



Now we move on to Dan Evans. The rancher who has fallen on hard times when he is first introduced. His barn has been set ablaze by the henchmen of an impatient debt collector. After, Dan and his sons witness a stage coach robbery by the notorious outlaw Ben Wade. Dan agrees to help take Wade on the cross-country journey to the town of Contention where they will place him on the prison train to Yuma. Dan's motivations are more driven by desperation than Mr. Smith's Samaritan nature. An unspoken motivation is for him to prove to his kids that he is what they think he is.



Throughout the film Wade and Evans go back and forth with each other, although we start to see a bond develop. Their relationship first started when Evans and his children were riding looking for their cattle. They have their confrontation in which Wade takes the horses from them, but soon thereafter leaves them tied up to a tree, unharmed. This shows a sign of respect for Dan. Later on as the two are both in town, they run into each other at a saloon. Wade offers Dan money, and Dan gets greedy with what he wants, but Ben respects him for his bravery. This is where Wade gets caught, and is upset with Dan for not warning him, although he already knew the sheriff and his crew were on their way. Throughout the journey to take Wade to Yuma on the 3:10 train, they both have scraps with each other and develop a rough bond. The main objective on this mission for Dan was to pay back the debt so he can better support his family. The main objective on this mission for Ben is to escape and not take the train to Yuma. Both of these plans pan out, but probably not as well as either of them has hoped. Dan ultimately ends up paying the debt, on top of gaining more money for his family, and owes it to Ben a great deal for getting on that train. That is an example of the bond they developed for each other. Another example, probably the best one, is when Dan confesses that he really lost his leg at the hand of one of his own men.


WORKS CITED

"3:10 to Yuma" comingsoon.net. Web. 10 May. 2010
"3:10 to Yuma" imdb.com. Web. 10 May. 2010