Just watched this one for the first time.
Of course I've known of the movie's existence since it was released, but for whatever reason I never saw it. And going into it tonight, I really knew almost nothing about it. I knew that it had Daniel-Day Lewis and had something to do with Indians and that's it.
In fact, I had forgotten it was directed by Michael Mann, so when his name came up I was like, "Oh yeah, I'll be damned. This is a Michael Mann movie."
Overall I thought it was pretty good. It was confusing to start. You have the British and the French and two different Indian tribes and it took me a minute to figure out who was who and what exactly was going on.
I also was confused about why Daniel-Day Lewis was an Indian. My initial assumption was that Mann was trying to pass him off as a real, legit native of these lands and I was shaking my head. But then it comes out that he's supposed to be adopted and that made more sense.
But once the picture came together regarding who everyone was and why they were doing what they were doing, I was good.
I felt like the movie REALLY got going after the British are removed from their fort. The ambush where the British get treated like they're targets in a shooting gallery was the first scene where I really sat up and was like, "Oh shit." While the movie was certainly solid up to that point, that was a genuinely great scene.
The scene in the canoes right after that was also good, engaging stuff, and the film also really starts opening up around this point and showing off the lushness of the land. Filmed primarily in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, this is what people mean when they say "God's country."
Regarding casting, there weren't many big names, surprisingly. There was DDL, who wasn't even well known at the time, and that's about it for major star power. However, I felt like everyone did a good job in their roles and it's always interesting to see Native Americans on screen because we see them so rarely. (Longmire, BTW, is a great show which showcases several talented Native actors.)
I do want to mention a few more specific plot points:
Major Heyward . . . that dude's kind of an asshole! But when you see him being burned alive you gotta feel for him and be like, "Well, maybe he wasn't such a bad dude after all. This is not a good death for him."
When Alice jumps to her death that was pretty sad. Pretty sad AND seemingly unnecessary considering the cavalry was right around the corner. But hell, maybe she had just had enough of life at that point.
"No, girl! Don't do it!"
And finally, I have to mention Magua. He's an interesting character. Savage and vengeful, but when you hear his backstory, you have to have at least a little sympathy for him. No wonder he's pissed.
My one major complaint is essentially a technical one: For whatever reason, everyone involved with this project frequently seemed to act like they didn't know how to pronounce their words. I don't know that I've ever seen a film with so many mumbling motherfuckers who don't know how to enunciate. About five minutes in I realized I was missing a lot of the story because I couldn't understand half of what people were saying and I had to turn the subtitles on. I'd be curious to hear if others had this same problem.
But as a whole I enjoyed this film and I'm pleased to finally check it off the list. It seems a bit of a strange project for Michael Mann, who often seems most at home shooting in the big city, but he did well with it.
8/10
@BearGrounds, where you at? This one's for you, buddy!
