Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Up & Down the Frontier: Last of the Mohicans



Mohicans is directed at a ferocious pace and carries one of the more well known scores of Mann's films courtesy of Trevor Jones & Randy Edelman. For a filmmaker known for reinventing the crime genre with his aesthetic, this film proved a departure from the streets. Instead it is fitted with 1757 attire. It's certainly one of the best looking films in Mann's filmography. Gone is the color pallette of previous films. In are the picturesque nature scenes with lots of brown & greens. One nice addition to Mann's style is the increasing realism of violence. Not that he's had the wrong penchant for depicting things with authenticity. It's just become more pronounced here. Particularly in the ambushes and geography of the scenes. The use of Daniel Day-Lewis doesn't hurt either.

Of all Mann's films, this feels like the odd duck of the bunch. Mann's storylines have, for the most part, been compelling . & that's not saying that this 'odd duck' of a film is bad just because it sticks out from the rest. What I am saying is that the story is too middle of the road for a Mann picture. I'm left wanting more. Not in a good way. However, more is exactly what Mann would deliver with his next film. B-

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