Last of the Mohicans

Brooks Wilson - Knotty Girls Small Group

Our block choice for August is “The Last of the Mohicans.” This 1992 movie classic stars a very buff Daniel Day-Lewis and gorgeous Madeline Stowe. The story is set about 10 years before the American Revolution when the French and the English were fighting for control of the vast American colonies. Nathaniel Poe is a white orphan who has been adopted and has lived among the Mohawk tribe, which is close to extinction. Nathaniel – nicknamed “Hawkeye” because of his prowess with a long rifle – and his Indian brother and father come upon a contingent of British troops that has been attacked by Indians aligned with the French. Hawkeye manages to save the two young daughters of the British general and the effeminate British officer (are there really any other kind in the movies?) who yearns for the hand of Cora, the older daughter.

Cora is a winsome lass with a sharp tongue. As she discovers the limitations of her suitor, she delivers one of the great put-downs in screen history as she says, “Duncan, you are a man with a few admirable qualities, but taken as a whole, I was wrong to have thought so highly of you.” Ouch!

The bombardment of the British fort barely interferes with the budding romance between Cora and Nathaniel and the sparks between them sizzle amid this very unlikely backdrop. She sees his fierce, uncompromising nobility and he sees a woman of strength and beauty (even when disheveled and bloody, her hair – and his too, for that matter – still looks like a Panteen commercial).

The North Carolina countryside is stunningly beautiful as it poses as western New York state. Wes Studi, as the evil Magua, is totally convincing as a cold killing machine. The music is haunting and though the story has few happy endings, this movie will stick with you. At a critical point in the story, when Nathaniel pleads with Cora to “stay alive no matter what occurs. I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you” - you just know that he will. And you find yourself wishing for a man who will run through forests, ford streams, and vanquish any foe for you, too.