character from the novel by Giles Foden on which the movie is based. This aspect of fiction makes you wonder, though, if replacing the film to a different country and different background would have changed the story or that it wouldn't have really mattered where the story took place, in what particular period of time. Is it necessary to tell this story through the life of Idi Amin or could it have the same effect if told entirely with fictionalized people? I think a big part of the strength of the film is Amin's character and the fact that he really lived and the harm he has done is real. Therefore a man like him, a character like him, has a much more powerful impact and you really feel the suffocating tension when being in his presence. He's so unpredictable. You don't know what he will do, you can't really read him. Because some of the events are fiction, like the relationship of Nicholas and Kay, the story could have easily be set in a different time. Overall Amin is just a really bad villain. But without the historical setting this film would have been like any other thriller and never that special. Plus, the film does show a lot of Amin's regime and the kind of man he was and it is based on a novel concerning the life of Amin and his regime. Therefore this setting is still really acceptable and does add a lot to the story. Aside of all this, something I did kept noticing was the shortness of the shots' duration. I'm not sure if it is something that was really used here extensively and that is why it really caught my eye or that for some reason I just really payed a lot of attention to it for some unknown reason. But because of this short shot length in some of the scenes it set for a really fast pace which really worked for the kind of political thriller The Last King Of Scotland is. Mostly the director of documentary films, Kevin Macdonald does a great job at giving his actors the space to really shine. I loved the scenes between Amin and Nicholas where they were all alone. It was nice to see their bond develop. Forest Whitaker's acting was extremely powerful and I felt the way the camera moved, as in documentary style, really fitted his performance. Whitaker is Amin and therefore you are aware of his presence even when the camera doesn't show him during one of his scenes. Whitaker is so real and truly becomes Amin in speech, posture, facial expressions etc. It's kind of scary to watch and it almost makes you forget you're watching Forest Whitaker playing Amin. James McAvoy who I find to have a very nice screenpresence and who seems really comfortable on screen, really stood his own against Whitaker. I liked how he gave Nicholas these different sides and really showed his versatility. He started out young and naïve, but in the end he found himself stuck and knew he only had himself to blame. When a fellow doctor tells him he doens't deserve to live, as a viewer you can only agree. McAvoy made of Nicholas a likable character, but he always gave you the feeling he isn't your typical good guy, he does have flaws, which he knows. As a viewer you appreciate him more because he's aware of his mistakes which really makes you feel drawn to him. Kerry Washington was really good as well, even though her part wasn't that big. But it was just enough to show her range and her versatility as an actress. Even smaller was Gillian Anderson's part, who did good as well, but who's role was just too small to really show development.What is it about?
Nicholas Garrigan, a young Scottish doctor, moves to Uganda to do something good for the world, but also have fun and be on this great adventure. Once arrived, he works together with doctor Merrit and his wife Sarah. The relationship between Sarah and Nicholas strengthens when Sarah's husband leaves the two to do some work in another village. After attending a conference of new president Idi Amin, Nicholas and Sarah are asked to help out the president who needs a doctor after hurting his hand. Naïve Nicholas helps out Amin and acts without fear, which leads to him taking Amin's gun and shooting a cow. Once
Amin find out the boy is Scottish he soon invites him to his home and offers him a job as his personal doctor. Not having yet experienced Amin's true character, Nicholas is too much taken away by Amin's friendly character and what to him seems to be a true friendship. After taking the job Nicholas soon finds himself in a tough position both seeing Amin's true face and his real regime. With almost noone at his side anymore it seems impossible for him to find a way out and leave Uganda once he finds out Amin isn't the friendly man who he once believed he was.Final Verdict: ****1/2
The Last King Of Scotland is a very powerful film which steams by at a high pace. Throughout the film you can feel the tension rise and Nicholas fear for Idi Amin. As a viewer you know he's in for some real trouble and you never buy into the funny nice looking guy as whom Amin presents himself to Nicholas. This is part what makes the film so full of suspense. As a viewer you know from the beginning Amin isn't someone you should get near to, especially when you are a foreigner and almost aren't aware of the real politics that are going on in Uganda. When watching Nicholas get close to Amin you know he puts himself in a tough position.
What the film really shows is what it's like to be at the side of a dictator like Amin. Once you are part of his staff it's hard to get out and impossible to show any oppression. The film really shows not only Amin, but also how other dictators rule and how they take control of everything and can not be trusted. By introducing Nicholas character, the movie really knows how to translate this fear for Amin and is really able to give a portrayal of who Amin really was and the harm he has done. Through Nicholas the viewer inherits the feeling of fear Nicholas feels. I really like the fact that they turned the film more into a political thriller than just a film about historical events. If Amin's life was shown from his own eyes beginning with his childhood, the film would have become I guess, boring and maybe also a bit too hard to sit through just because of all the awful things Amin has done. By adding a protagonist who really experiences Amin's regime from a distance as a viewer you feel much more as an observer and you really feel like being in Amin's presence instead of experiencing events from Amin's own eyes. Altogether, The Last King Of Scotland is a very good movie, which doesn't show anything really new or highly original, but is just really solid and succesful in being a thriller. It's a very interesting film, showing both great entertainment and some historical education, that many will enjoy.
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