![]() Second, a dinner in a tiny log cabin, where potatoes roast on a fireplace and bread is kneaded by a pioneer woman. The first 10 pages essentially show us three scenes.įirst, an elk hunt, which takes place in a forest to emphasize the rural setting of the story. ![]() The world of The Last of the Mohicans is colonial America, with its pristine, cathedral-like forests and the simple, but brutal living conditions that defined the era. They will fight for fortune, they will fight for glory, and they will fight for love. Uncas, Chingachgook, and Nathaniel are chasing an elk and this hunt is a foreshadowing of the type of story we are about to read. When the moccasined foot tears into the frame, the tranquility disappears and is replaced with an unrelenting energy. The third paragraph is punctuated with a warning. They are subject to the natural world they live and work in so it only makes sense that that world grabs our attention first, in the opening paragraph. The characters in the film will navigate through this wilderness, struggling to survive. The first three paragraphs paint a picture of simple beauty. On the first page, Mann and Crowe contrast two scenes to set the tone of the film. This is a story set in a rustic setting, two decades before the American Revolution. The Last of the Mohicans is clearly a period piece. They possess the swift ability to take a life, but in the case of the defenseless elk, they are humble enough to understand their place among the colossal trees surrounding them. Uncas, Chingachgook, and Nathaniel are the good guys in this story. His character is strong, aggressive, and assertive.Īfter Nathaniel has killed the elk, what happens next is a small stroke of genius.īy showing the three men paying their respects to their conquest, Mann and Crowe communicate a crucial piece of exposition to us. The first time we see a character, he or she should be doing what defines them. He will use it to save himself and later Cora Munro, a woman he meets and grows to love.įirst impressions are important in life, but in a screenplay, they are crucial. Second, Nathaniel is a warrior and his long rifle – that is also a nickname the French-speaking tribes have given him – will be the instrument he uses to survive his upcoming journey. First, Nathaniel Poe will be the main character we will follow for the next 120 pages or so. They are running, but from whom? Or towards what? The writers keep us in suspense for as long as they can, one page, before they hone in on Nathaniel, who raises his rifle and aims it toward a fleeing elk.īy having Nathaniel be the one to make the kill, the writers give us two vital pieces of exposition. We see three men, Uncas, Chingachgook, and Poe, charging through an old-growth forest. The main character is Nathaniel Poe, also known as Hawkeye, who is introduced on page 2, but not before two other characters are introduced first. ![]() The first 10 pages of The Last of the Mohicans is filled with descriptive passages that set the story in motion and observe the first 5 rules of a screenplay in a brisk, skillful manner. Director Michael Mann co-wrote the screenplay with Christopher Crowe. In a role he was born to play, Daniel Day-Lewis stars in this sweeping historical drama set during the French and Indian War in the 18 th century. Screenplay by: Michael Mann and Christopher Crowe
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