The film stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale as notorious outlaw and desperate rancher, respectively, whose lives become fatefully intertwined and changed forever.

It’s a remake of a 1957 classic Western directed by Delmer Daves and starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin as the bad and the good. I haven’t seen the 1957’s version, but I suspect this may be one remake that actually surpasses the original. The film is based on a short story by screenwriter and master storyteller, Elmore Leonard.

Crowe’s and Bale’s performances are flawless. Crowe is Ben Wade—a ruthless killer and thief who leads an equally nefarious gang on crime sprees throughout the West. He is the man you should hate, but part of you longs for his redemption. He is too handsome to be pure evil, and he is an artist, which means he must have a soul somewhere. But, he chooses to saunter through the world without a conscience, discarding his pencil sketches as easily as the lives he takes.

Bale is Dan Evans, a one-legged Civil War veteran, a family man and rancher, who is struggling to save his land and feed his family. Evans’ life is crumbling, and he doesn’t know how to hold it together. When Ben Wade is captured, Evans volunteers to help escort him to prison and bring him to justice. Evans knows the dangers, but he feels he has nothing to lose. He is blinded by his desperation.

“3:10 to Yuma” is one of those films that movie buffs love to analyze—it’s rich in symbolism, foreshadowing and deeply developed characters. Great movies are often simple stories that involve complex characters. They leave us a little better able to distinguish between the good and the bad, both in others and in ourselves. “Yuma” reminds us why we love film, and why we love Westerns.

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Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler) had a wonderful life. He was a successful dentist, happily married, living in New York City with his wife and three young daughters. He never had any reason to question his existence. Perhaps he was even guilty of taking his fortune for granted. Then, one day in September 2001 his family boarded a flight to Los Angeles without him, and the plane went down as part of the 9/11 terrorist’s plot. In that defining moment, Charlie lost everyone dear to him. Their tragic deaths haunt him now, and he can no longer maintain his life as it was. He is a ghost, drifting in and out of scenes without a soul. In a stellar performance, Adam Sandler shows us a man who once had everything but who now has nothing but grief.

Charlie’s college roommate, Don Cheadle, has been thinking of Charlie ever since he read about the tragic event. Perhaps because he senses his own growing complacency toward his family, he is obsessed with Charlie’s loss of his. He sees Charlie on the streets and reaches out to him. The rest of story unfolds as their friendship grows.

This movie is the antithesis of a high-speed action thriller, and yet it is an eloquent example of high drama. Reminiscent of the subtle but powerful dramas like “Ordinary People” or “Terms of Endearment,” the movie is carthartic. The suspense in the film comes not from what people do as much as from what they don’t do. Charlie’s life is the consequence of inaction and repression—which are not the easiest subjects to portray on screen. Mike Binder does it masterfully.

You may be surprised by how long this movie stays with you after you leave the theater.

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