The Last King of Scotland (2006) June 27, 2007
Posted by gproject in : Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Kevin Macdonald
At the most basic level, one could say that this is the story of a normal guy, fresh out of education, looking to get away from his boring home life. Of course, that’s not what everyone is going to remember come the end of the film, and while this account is in fact fictional, it is centred around a very real figure of history: Ugandan president, Idi Amin.
Nicholas Garrigan is an idealistic young doctor from Scotland, who picks Africa as a destination for escape from a life of ‘family doctoring’ alongside his father. While there, he forms a bond with the newly appointed president Amin, through a shared love for Scotland. Amin quickly appoints him as his personal doctor, and Nicholas soon becomes a close advisor to the president. However, as political climates change, Amin becomes more erratic and dangerous, leaving Nicholas no choice but to get out of Africa before he too becomes a target for the president’s wrath.
First off, the performances, which play a big part in the strength of this film - especially from the two leads. Forest Whitaker is almost unrecognisable, but absolutely brilliant, in the Amin role, while James McAvoy stands tall too creating a very relatable central character. There’s a great sense of getting to know these two people over the 121-minute running time, mainly because they are the ones occupying most of the screen time. Even Gillian Anderson only gets a small role in comparison.
The film is very nicely shot by Touching The Void director Kevin Macdonald, although he tends to let the camera wander at times which, though a stylistic choice I’m sure, is kind of distracting – personally, it pulls me out of the moment and reminds me that I’m watching the events through a camera lens. It doesn’t happen often luckily, and forms only a minor failing in what is quite an achievement of a film.
While not wanting to give too much away, I will say that it is surprisingly violent in parts – you’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen it. It’s worth being aware that although this movie mostly keeps away from actually showing the violent nature of Amin – his brutal killings are only heard about in retrospect – there are still some moments of an unpleasant nature.
The Last King of Scotland is one of those films that really makes the most of its assets. A great story, two fantastic performances, and a realistic script - it’s hard to ask for much more. While it does tend to stick to its own tale rather than detail the events that Amin was actually involved in, whether you find this a good or a bad thing will be a matter of personal opinion. Still, definitely worth a watch regardless of how much you know about this particular period in African history.
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