Jason Silver

Friday, February 6th, 2004

Last of the Mohicans

My Rating: 4 Stars

The Last of the Mohicans isn't exactly correct 'politically;' the bad guys are mostly French or Indian, the good guys are white and English... there's a polar boundary of absolutism which modernistically permeates the story... but I really enjoyed it!

Just because you've seen the movie, don't assume you know what the book is about. The main star in the movie (Daniel Day Lewis) is just a supporting character in the book-- in fact, the movie turns the book's hero, a young headstrong Englishman engaged to be married, into a pompous crook-- and gives his woman away to the scout!

I can't really blame the movie for the changes it made: if it hadn't done a bit of plot masacre, Indians and French people would be more than a little indignant.

But I do miss one of the main characters taken out of the story. His name was David, and he was a church musician skilled in the arts of hymnody. His oblivious dismissal of reality and child-like faith in the mesmerizing powers of music saved him from death more than a few times; and always ironically.

The book is about the Mohicans-- a nearly obliterated, gentile tribe of native American people, more than it is a love story. I guess Hollywood has learned that love sells... so they do that.

This is one of the better novels I've read lately, and since seeing the movie only a few months after reading it I am tempted to revisit the book. I'd rather have the book plot as the last thing in my mind than the botched movie script. If you loved the movie, read the book. It will really enhance the story for you!

~Jason