The Last King of Scotland

Told through the eyes of his personal doctor, The Last King of Scotland is an unusual yet chilling portrait of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker). What starts out as light hearted adventure, gradually plunges you into the dark heart of a complex man.

Newly graduated Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) leaves his parent's home for a remote mission in Uganda. Determined to make a difference over there, it is not long before his youthful spirit for adventure sees his path cross with that of the newly elected leader. After being invited to the capital, he is made an offer that will irrevocably alter his time in Uganda. Taking the role of personal physician, Garrigan becomes the vantage point from which we observe Amin -man of the people- change into a cruel, ruthless, and paranoid killer.

Whitaker's performance as Idi Amin is astonishing, and it's his scenes that make the movie so memorable. The hulking bear-like presence is genuinely intimidating, often terrifying. Whitaker portrays each facet of the man in such startlingly believable fashion, you dread the moment he appears. Which element will be on show: charming buffoon, idealistic man of the people, murderous dictator? Idi is all these things, yet despite the fear his appearance invokes there is a strong magnetism to the man drawing you in. It is genuinely chilling to watch someone so unpredictably brutal, yet also humorous and charming.

Sadly the same praise can not be passed on to other aspects of the film. The towering performance of Whitaker makes the average quality of the screenplay all the more obvious. As a device to portray Idi the story is at best functional. Supporting characters are not as fleshed out as they should be. An important sub plot involving the British foreign office is also minimally developed; all the more puzzling given it's relevance in the final reel.

It doesn't take much to read Garrigan as symbolic of Western foray in to African political affairs. A man seeing only what he wants to see, carrying himself with a mix of arrogance and ignorance. But watching the Doctor drink whiskey, sleep with married women, and blunder through horrific turmoil with complete naivety is often trying. Ultimately eliciting little sympathy, I found myself greeting his fate with indifference.

The Last King of Scotland is a good movie by virtue of one performance. As political comment it moves too swiftly over many details, but as an indirect portrait of Idi Amin it is compelling viewing.