Review of The Last of the Mohicans (1992) by Harry W — 27 May 2015

With Michael Mann as the director and Daniel Day-Lewis taking on the lead role, The Last of the Mohicans sounded like an interesting collaboration of talent.

As I never read the source novel The Last of the Mohicans and never studied the historical context of the story, I found myself with a lot of questions watching the film. To a certain extent I was able to ignore that and embrace the themes of adventure and heroism in the film, but there were a lot of things about the film that bugged me. I don't know if the original novel reveals as much context as I needed or if I would have had to study the French and Indian War to fully understand it, but there ends up being enough in The Last of the Mohicans for it to stand alone well as a good adventure film and one with a passionate atmosphere. But I felt like there were narrative flaws in terms of context and the thin story. When I say that, I mean that despite a lot of the complex historical context of the story and there is quite a lot of subtext in the characters, there is actually not too much that goes on in The Last of the Mohicans. I'll admit that the story is engaging and interesting, but as a whole it is a rather thin one. But then again, considering the fact that the source material dates back to 1826 there is only so much it can do to fit into the entertainment value of a contemporary crowd. Michael Mann does what he can to elevate the film and there is no denying that he succeeds, but the slow moving and limited story capacity weighs down on the film as a whole.

But there is no denying precisely what Michael Mann brings to The Last of the Mohicans. As director, he is able to successfully transfer the dialogue of the story over to a contemporary film style which gives it the scale and visual style that it truly needs. It doesn't precisely hit the epic scale of adventure or touching level of passion that Dances with Wolves did, but the stories are both very different. While The Last of the Mohicans is more challenging to understand due to only a vague explanation of the context in the story, it still stands out as an entertaining film in many other areas.

Visually, The Last of the Mohicans is just excellent. The film hits a high point in terms of its visual quality because the scenery of the film is so beautiful and excellently genuine that it gives the film a fine sense of realism. It combines with the production design and costumes of the film to give it true visual beauty. Also, it is all captured with beautiful cinematography which easily captures the scale of the story in its epic form. Everything in the film looks just marvellous, so The Last of the Mohicans succeeds easily as an excellent visual spectacle which broadens its appeal to audiences beyond simply those familiar with the original text and brings it into the 1990's very well on the level of a spectacle which remains entertaining into the decades beyond. The Last of the Mohicans has a true adventure feel as well as some exciting action scenes to it which range from excellently choreographed close contact fights with weaponry to westernized shootout moments. The versatility of these makes the film exhilerating and gives it some truly heroic moments which amalgamate all the spirit of the film excellently.

The musical score in The Last of the Mohicans is also great. The film is already rich in atmosphere because of Michael Mann's handling of the screenplay he crafted with Christopher Crowe, but it is further enhanced by the beautiful composition of Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman's musical score. It gives the film an undeniable spirit and really has viewers embracing the heart of it all. It helps to emphasize a lot of the subtext in the story and drive the emotional power of it all even further, so it is one of the finest technical elements of the film.

And on top of it all, the cast in The Last of the Mohicans do an excellent job bringing a level of humanity to the epic scale of the film.

Daniel Day-Lewis is once again extremely powerful in his leading role in The Last of the Mohicans. It doesn't live up to the quality of his finest performances considering the quality of acting he has given in various other films, but there is no denying that his performance is still excellent. He once again sinks into the role so well both physically and emotionally that he does a truly powerful job conveying the spirit of Hawkeye. The Last of the Mohicans serves as a look at him both as great actor and even as an action hero because the way he grasps his weapons with confidence and strikes his enemies with clean, swift movements. But as well as that, he puts a lot of depth into the role. His voice articulation is spot on because he finds the correct tone of voice and the ideal level of dramatic delivery, so it is easy to see precisely what kind of passion he has for the part. He fits the profile perfectly and makes a truly compelling lead actor to carry the spirit of the film on his shoulders which he is able to do excellently by standing strong and interacting with the surrounding cast members, in particular Madeline Stowe whom he shares a wonderful chemistry with. Daniel Day-Lewis is once again excellent in The Last of the Mohicans.

West Studi is also excellent. The actor who has gained a lot of recognition for his strong portrayals of Native American characters in many films really proves why he is so acclaimed in Last of the Mohicans. He plays the role of Magua excellently due to the aggressive energy and dedication to every little detail of the character. He makes a memorable antagonist in The Last of the Mohicans and has some really intense moments, so he adds to the film very well.

Madeline Stowe also does a very nice job.

So thanks to a powerful leading performance from Daniel Day-Lewis, some unforgettable action scenes and Michael Mann anchoring the film as the magnificent visual spectacle that it is, The Last of the Mohicans makes for a strong historical epic adventure film which transcends most of its narrative flaws and lack of sufficient historical context.