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The Last King of Scotland

Review By: Rocco Passafuime
RoccoPassafuime@TheCinemaSource.com

When most people think of dictators, they think of monsters, barbarians, and people who generally don’t deserve to be considered human because of the atrocities they commit that we read in the news. In the 1970’s, Ugandan dictator Idi Amin Dada was considered one such man.

In 1998, journalist Giles Foden wrote The Last King Of Scotland, which was a fictional story based on the real life history of the Amin reign. It was made into a film eight years later, which is now available on DVD.

In 1970’s Scotland, Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) is a freshly-minted doctor who, in a desire to escape the doldrums of his home, picks the African country of Uganda to begin his career. When he first arrives, Garrigan works in a small clinic in the country’s more rural area.

Nicholas later attends a political rally to check out the fuss surrounding the newly-self-appointed presidency of Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker); the former general of the Ugandan army who seized power in a military coup. Following the rally he encounters Amin by chance as he helps the would-be president with a minor injury in an encounter with a cow.

Impressed by not only the young man’s honesty, but by his heritage as a Scotsman, Amin appoints Nicholas as his personal physician. Quickly, Garrigan’s appointment gives him incredible access into Amin’s personal inner-circle and forges an unlikely bond with the Ugandan leader.

However, Nicholas soon discovers there’s more to Amin underneath all the seeming smiles and sunshine on the surface. The doctor starts to witness firsthand his descent into a highly paranoid and fearsomely brutal dictator, who begins to murder almost anybody he considers untrustworthy and embarks on a nationalist course that drives the country’s economy to the ground.

The Last King Of Scotland is an incredibly fascinating blurring of the lines between fictional thriller and real-life politics. The story, which centers on a naïve young man’s rise to prominence and decadence under the powerful inner-circle of an increasingly corrupt government, is powerful enough to relate to just about any open-minded viewer, regardless of their level of knowledge about history or politics.

Winner of the Best Actor Oscar, Forest Whitaker gives what is undoubtedly the best film performance of the past year, as well as often one of the most terrifying performances ever committed to film, as real-life Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Even when Amin is seemingly more light-hearted and jovial early on, Whitaker’s performance is powerful enough to consistently creep you out and realize you are dealing with a man who could just as easily break you in half if you dare cross him.

Despite this, however, Whitaker’s gift for sensitive performances, which up until now he had been primarily known for, often shows itself in his portrayal of Amin. He does the seemingly impossible and presents an incredibly three-dimensional ...