The Last of the Mohicans




Death and honor are thought to be the same, but today I have learned that sometimes they are not.

The French and Indian War isn't Hollywood's most popular conflict, and Daniel Day-Lewis doesn't work all that often. Somehow it just works.

Right in the middle of the war against the French and their Indian allies, two daughters of a British colonel (Maurice Roëves) are waylaid and then rescued by three trappers. Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis) takes particular interest in Cora (Madeleine Stowe), but Magua (Wes Studi), an especially savage Indian, has plans for the girls. So it's up to Hawkeye and his adopted tribe of Mohicans to protect the girls as the war rages on.

On a purely visceral level, The Last of the Mohicans is quite an eyeful. The story takes a backseat to the spectacle and the emotions that are supposed to be evoked along with it. The locations are authentic and pretty, the action surprisingly gripping, and the theme music is widely held in high esteem for good reason. Granted, a lot of kinetic action is required as guns in this period required reloading after every shot. There's enough tomahawk and bayonet wielding to more than compensate for any perceived dullness that this time period usually gets stuck with. One lengthy segment of the movie revolves around a fort under siege, which is needless to say impressive, both on engaging and technical levels. Plus, the Mohicans obviously can't be anything less than uber trackers, so it's fairly easy for them to mow through the bad guys, and fun to watch them besides. But all this visceralness puts the story at a distinct disadvantage. Too much plot happens and not nearly enough story. The characters are kind of just there as an excuse for the scenery and endless action to take place. Stuff like the romance between Hawkeye and Cora just doesn't draw out any emotion very well, hard as Michael Mann tries otherwise.

While a terrific actor, and obviously giving it his all for this role, Daniel Day-Lewis can't be said to much more than effective as Hawkeye. Though for this kind of role, everyone really only cares as long as he can pull off the action and look good while doing it. Madeleine Stowe has even less to do with no character development, while Russell Means and Eric Schweig do well enough as the supporting Mohicans. Wes Studi makes for a riveting villain, despite his motives remaining unclear for most of the film. There are plenty more decent performances from the supporting cast, but it's ironically the talented Jodhi May who resonates the most as Alice, the younger sister, despite having a sideline part.

See it for the savages, not for the story. That's what the book is for anyway, right?



-The Gnome