Alone Yet Not Alone (2013)

**_Escape from the Delaware “savages” in Pennsylvania_**

During the beginning of the French and Indian War in 1755, a settler family from Germany is attacked by Delaware (Lenape) Indians in central Pennsylvania, with the two daughters being taken captive, along with a friend. The next ten years of their lives are chronicled during the conflict. Will they assimilate, perish or escape?

"Alone Yet Not Alone" (2013) is based on the true story of Barbara & Regina Leininger and Marie LeRoy, whom the Delaware forcibly seized in the Penn's Creek Massacre. The ‘Indians’ and general milieu are akin to "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992) except with a budget and tone closer to "Battle of the Brave" (2004) or "The Sign of the Beaver,” aka "Keeping the Promise" (1997).

Speaking of the tone, the family-oriented scenes are a little too quaint in an almost eye-rolling way and I wish the creators shot for the more realistic social approach of “Last of the Mohicans.” But, don’t get me wrong, a LOT of this flick is evocative of that great film, in tone, locations, costumes, sets, etc.

The quaint family scenes are reminiscent of the first act of “How the West was Won” (1962), which went on to be a very entertaining Western. In other words, don’t trip over the ‘family friendly’ vibe of the opening scenes (which aren’t THAT bad). Give it a chance and you’ll be rewarded.

How so? The flick is rich with American history despite some bits being overdone, like General Braddock’s British arrogance toward the “savages.” No doubt a lowkey approach would’ve been more effective, yet Braddock WAS pompous and incompetent, overestimating his troops and underestimating the opponent, which led to his ignominious demise near Fort Duquesne (modern-day Pittsburgh). It is widely believed that he was shot by one of his own men so that George Washington could take command.

Meanwhile the depiction of the Lenape is well done. These are hearty people used to living in the wilderness day-in and day-out, not to mention formidable warriors. They originally intended to side with the more numerous Brits, but Braddock foolishly put the kibosh on that.

Objections to the faith element are laughable in light of the fact that the Puritan pioneers of the 1600s and Pietist Lutheran settlers of the 1700s WERE devout believers. Whole congregations with their pastors migrated to the colonies and pioneered settlements to escape religious oppression in Europe, let alone families. Then there’s the fact that the faith factor is hardly overdone. In other words, it’s there but not constantly in your face.

The pastor in the film, Henry Muhlenberg, was the founder of the Lutheran Church in America, as chronicled in the postscript. His son, Frederick, become a minister and was the first Speaker of the House of Representatives, as well as the first signer of the Bill of Rights in 1789, which was passed into law in 1791 after being ratified by 11 states. His brother also signed it.

I wish this production had more money because it needed a rewrite to make the story more compelling and clear up some bits. For instance, I had a hard time figuring out that the raven-haired protagonist that emerges in the second half (Kelly Greyson) is the blonde Barbara of the first half (Natalie Racoosin), which wasn’t helped by the fact that their faces are very different.

Then there’s grown-up Owen and David, who are prominent in the third act, but we don’t know them from Adam. In short, they needed to be fleshed out a bit BEFORE the attempted escape, which would’ve made the long escape more dramatically compelling. After all, you CARE about characters when you KNOW them.

Nevertheless, there’s a lot of good here and it’s well worth watching for fans of the movies mentioned and those interested in American history, as long as you can handle depictions of Christian faith, which happen to be true to history.

The film runs 1 hours, 42 minutes, and was shot in Roanoke & Williamsburg, Virginia; Fort Loudon State Historic Park, Vonore, Tennessee (the fort); and Transylvania County, North Carolina (the final fight sequence).

GRADE: B-/B