THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
A film review by Ellen Eades
Copyright 1992 Ellen Eades
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS was originally a novel by the execrable James Fenimore Cooper (and was pilloried by Mark Twain in an unforgettable essay titled "The Further Literary Offenses of James Fenimore Cooper," in which he sharpens his sword of wit and his pen of editing to razor's edges and has a great deal of fun). This new screenplay, based on the original 1936 screen-play, has been updated for modern audiences considerably. In my opinion, it's a huge improvement.
I was never able to plow through Cooper's novels as a child. I was riveted by the movie. The cinematography alone is worth the full price of admission; sweeping views of mist-covered rolling mountains, roaring rapids, rocky pinnacles and virgin forest are the backdrop for an impressively romantic storyline. Far less grim and sophisticated than BLACK ROBE, THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS manages to cloak its absurdities in a reasonably historic style, where even villains have reasons and heroes are capable of demi-godlike achievements of strength, endurance and spirit.
Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Nathaniel (Hawkeye in the novel), a white orphan raised by the Mohawk, Chingachgook, alongside his own son. This trio seems as much a part of the Atlantic forests as the deer and the cougar. Also starring is Madeleine Stowe as Cora Munro, the daughter of the British general commanding Fort William Henry. Several other supporting roles are very well done, among them Alice Munro, Cora's sister; Major Duncan, Cora's suitor; and Chingachgook's Indian son. A special mention goes to the villain of the piece, Magua, a Huron Indian who allies his war-party with the French general besieging Fort William Henry to revenge himself on General Munro and his colonial and Mohawk allies. Far from being wholly evil, as in the novel, Magua by the end of the movie is still brutal, vicious, and vengeful, but managed to evoke not a little sympathy from me.
Daniel Day-Lewis never fails to impress me, whether in MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE, MY LEFT FOOT, or THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. The man is simply splendid, bringing a nobility to the character of Nathaniel which even a jaded modern cannot fail to find humbling. As Cora, Madeleine Stowe manages to find a balance between strength, spirit, and the need to make her character a believable woman of the 1700s. But the true strength of the movie is in the camera's eye and the magnificent backdrop (filmed mainly in North Carolina's Chimney Rock State Park, but beautifully evoking the Green Mountains of Vermont), against which the heroic characters almost pale.
Anyone with an interest in period films must see this movie; anyone who admires native American history, early colonial history, or simply loves the forests of the Atlantic seaboard, should go see this on the big screen. Pay what you need to.
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