The portrayal of Native American culture in film was evolving significantly in the early '90s. The traditional John Wayne westerns where his protagonist needs to deal with (i.e. slaughter) "savages" in redface had thankfully been outgrown. By 1990 the Academy Awards gave the Best Picture statue to Dances with Wolves, and by 1998 Native American filmmakers started writing, producing, and directing films such as Smoke Signals that went on to be preserved by the Library of Congress. In 1991, when The Last of the Mohicans was announced, it initially looked based on pre production notes that the film was going to be an unmitigated disaster. Taking James Fenimore Cooper's staple of American literature courses (it was indeed a tough read in 11th grade), and then casting British/Irish actor Daniel Day-Lewis as the most famous Native American character of all time in Nathaniel "Hawkeye" Bumppo (changed to "Poe" in the film), it looked like classic Hollywood whitewashing. Then putting action director Michael Mann in charge, of whom Collider described his aesthetic in terms of "leaning heavily on bleary sunsets, neon lights against wet streets, electric guitars, synths, and electronic tom- toms wailing," the ingredients of a Hollywood bastardization designed to alienate audiences and make money seemed to be in place. Luckily, the final film hit the jackpot with about as perfect an adaptation as you could get.
In rural New York (definitely not the "Big Apple," yet) in 1757 during The French & Indian Wars, British Army Major Heyward is tasked with escorting a Colonel Munro's two daughters, Cora and Alice, to their father at Fort William Henry. Their Mohawk guide Magua (a career best Wes Studi) is actually of the rival Huron tribe and leads them into an ambush, where they are saved by Hawkeye, a settler adopted into the Mohican tribe (that's how you get around it). Finally getting to Fort Henry, they find it in ruins from a French siege, and with no other options, Munro surrenders to the French general. He says the remaining forces can leave the fort and go home. Once Munro, his soldiers, and the civilians leave the fort, Huron warriors ambush (Magua's great at ambushes) and massacre them. Hawkeye fights his way out with the two women, but they are eventually captured. Magua takes his prisoners deep into Huron territory. Heyward is burned alive, while Alice is to be given to Magua as a bride. Before Hawkeye can rescue her she jumps off a waterfall, after which the Mohican chief Chingachgook duels and kills Magua.
Many bestow the title of "masterpiece" on Cooper's work simply because it's one of the first works of American literature ever. The fact is it is extremely dry and talkative, and doesn't hold up well today. Mark Twain once famously ripped this film a new asshole in the 1890's ("a tale shall accomplish something and arrive somewhere. But "Last of the Mohicans" accomplishes nothing and arrives in air.), and Roger Ebert called it "all but unreadable." Nevertheless, Natty Bumppo is an immortal character, and everyone loves a good Cowboys-and-Indians style romp, so naturally the book has been adapted many times for television, radio, opera, and been brought to life in 11 seperate film adaptations. This 1992 version takes it cue specifically from the 1936 piece directed by Philip Dunne starring Randolph Scott (Don't believe me? It says on the opening credits: "Based on Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, and Last of the Mohicans by Philip Dunne). And it's for the best; this is an adaptation after all; a molasses slow arthouse film wouldn't cut it for mainstream audience in 1992. The closest relative of a Cooper work is probably The Revenant, which serves the arthouse audience. But that's not what Mann felt would work best, he knew the violence of the ambushes, the scalpings, and tomahawkings were a critical part of the story, and a chief reason why the stories are popular. Even if Cooper didn't articulate it, even after over articulating everything else, Mann knew exactly how to translate it to the screen. And the action is better than any contemporary Michael Bay action film: hard hitting, visceral, and most importantly, realistic. The violence is not violence to entertain, but to make a point: this is what the war in Colonial America looked like, and it was ugly.
For a director who used to shoot against said neon lights, and would later go on to shoot solely on digital cameras long before it was in vogue, this film is painstakingly accurate to the time period. Mann strives for the utmost authenticity in every capacity: dialogue in English, French, Mohawk, Cherokee, and Delaware; Day-Lewis lived out in the woods, carried his period accurate flintlock everywhere he went, and even rolled his own cigarettes with period accurate tobacco (Would Day-Lewis have done it any other way?). As a result of his usual hardcore method acting Day-Lewis is fantastic (as always); stoic and in complete tactical control of the land he knows by heart. His skin color is the last thing you'd think about watching the film for the first, second, or third time. With Mann's astonishing use of naturalistic lighting, shadow, and a wide range of colors create a lifelike painting on film stock. Gorgeous widescreen vistas of beautiful nature juxtaposed by brutal battles (again, not hyperbole; Magua literally rips an enemy's heart out of his chest), not to mention the melancholic yet rousing score from Trevor Jones and Randy Edleman (The climax's looping orchestration is quite hypnotic, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3YFAOnuZCo), make for an absorbing film. I'm not giving it the perfect score like I did with Glengarry Glen Ross, not for the violence, but the conventional love story between Hawkeye and Cora. It's unfortunately very modern Hollywoodesque ("Stay alive, I will find you" would have felt cliched if one of the greatest actors of all time didn't say it), but it doesn't take up too much of the film, fortunately. The more they would have been onscreen the more stars I would have taken off, but Mann luckily knew where the goods really were in the end.
Rating: ***1/2 out of 4
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