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Review #396 of 365
Movie Review of The Last King of Scotland (2006) [PG-13] 93 minutes
WIP™ Scale: (1st viewing $14.00 + 2nd Viewing $14.00) / 2 = $14.00
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When 2nd Seen: 12 February 2007
Time: 9:45 p.m.
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer
DVD Release Date: unscheduled
Directed by: Kevin Macdonald (Touching the Void)
Written by: Jeremy Brock (Driving Lessons) and Peter Morgan (The Queen) based on the novel by Giles Foden
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From): Forest Whitaker ("The Shield") • James McAvoy (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) • Kerry Washington (Little Man) • Gillian Anderson (Tristam Shandy) • Simon McBurney (Friends with Money)
Soundtrack: order the CD below
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Note: This is a spoiler review for the Last King of Scotland. If you would prefer not to have the plot spoiled, please click here to read this non-spoiler review instead.
Seeing The Last King of Scotland a second time allows for a closer scrutiny of the two main performances that of the Academy Award®-nominated Forest Whitaker who plays General Idi Amin and James McAvoy who portrays his personal physician and confidant, Nicholas Garrigan. Really, as was stated in the non-spoiler review, this is an actors' film. Next to these two, the rest of the cast and story, in fact, takes a back seat or becomes window dressing. There is no doubt that Forest Whitaker deserved the nomination for Best Actor. His stunning performance and utter absorption of the late ruthless and ultimately exiled dictator of Uganda has to be not only one of the best performances of the year; but, perhaps, of all time. From his crazed look to the sweat on his nervous face, from his commanding vocal performance to his foot stamping presence, from his child-like moments of panic and rage to his sheepish grins hiding homicide on a ruthless and bitter scale, he has every nuance of the character in hand.
"Forest Whitaker delivers the performance of his careen, and James McAvoy proves himself to be a worthy leading actor of his generation. Together, they make for a veritable tour de force on screen in this exceptional film."
When it comes to James McAvoy, however, one can only speculate why he was not considered in the supporting acting role category. He easily out-performed any of the other supporting male actor nominees. Certainly, on this side of the pond, his name is not as well known, and his face was cemented in the minds of many as that of the beloved but treacherous Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. All the more reason, it seems, to have acknowledged him for surpassing his previous role as half goat half man to become the young Scottish physician who sets out to change the world by joining another doctor to serve in the outskirts of rural Uganda. His world is turned upside down when a roadside accident with the President's car and subsequently wounded cow calls for him to step up and face the General directly. After fixing his hand up and sniping the General's gun to put the cow out of his misery, Amin decides he is the one who should be his next personal physician. At first, Dr. Garrigan respectfully declines, but when General Amin mentions the opportunity to help shape the future of all health care in Uganda, his eyes light up. A phone call later and he's on board. Their relationship grows with each passing day, and Garrigan manages to avoid getting any where near the truth of Amin's capacity for tyranny. The dots are all there for him, but he fails to connect them. For this, later he will pay. Garrigan works hard at first to comprehend the system, and Amin's gift of a convertible Mercedez Benz warms him up further. Over time, Amin begins to count on Garrigan as a trusted advisor, and does not seem to be aware of a secret affair with one of his three wives. The affair leads to her becoming pregnant—a factor hard to imagine in light of one of the parties being a knowledgeable doctor. Nonetheless, the only option is to end it early before the scandal unfolds as Amin would likely just have them killed. The whole world comes crashing down around Garrigan when he discovers, perhaps, that the rumors of the Amin Regime are not as exaggerated has he presumed they must be. In fact, it seems, that the health minister disappeared just after Garrigan reported to the General a strange visit he observed between the minister and a man at the Holiday Inn. As Amin's tenure grew on, he became increasingly paranoid, and he had nearly everyone tailed. It did not take long for him to learn of the acts of Garrigan and his wife, however, and the climax of the film comes when a Palestinian-hijacked plan lands in Uganda mostly carrying Israelis. At the airport, he orders Garrigan hanged from his skin in a duty free shop as punishment. As he hangs in agony, images of his life passing before his eyes, he is freed by another doctor with the instructions to tell the world of the true life in Uganda under Edi Amin. He narrowly escapes with his life on the plane intended for Israelis hostages heading home.
Forest Whitaker delivers the performance of his careen, and James McAvoy proves himself to be a worthy leading actor of his generation. Together, they make for a veritable tour de force on screen in this exceptional film.
Forest Whitaker delivers the performance of his careen, and James McAvoy proves himself to be a worthy leading actor of his generation. Together, they make for a veritable tour de force on screen in this exceptional film.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
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Other Projects Featuring The Last King of Scotland (2006)
Cast Members
Forest Whitaker
• James McAvoy • Kerry WashingtonGillian Anderson
• Simon McBurney| Book | CD Soundtrack | DVD |
| VHS |
The Last King of Scotland (2006) Review-lite [150-word cap]
Based on Giles Foden's novel of the same name, The Last King of Scotland, directed by Kevin Macdonald, concerns the rise and demise of diabolical, self-appointed, Ugandan President, Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) through the eyes of Scottish physician Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) who falls under the spell of Amin and accepts an appointment to be his personal physician. Garrigan wears blinders for Amin's atrocities only so long before he realizes he's got to get out of Uganda. This is an actor's film with fascinating portrayals by Whitaker and McAvoy. Their on-screen chemistry is electric with mutual, child-like anticipation of the great future ahead. Once the chaos commences and Amin turns on the one he's trusted the most, Garrigan must face his demons head on with blinders fully removed. The film is excellent yet lacks historical pieces that would have elevated it to one of the best films of the year.
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