Forest Whitaker delivers a violently commanding performance as the brutal Ugandan president Idi Amin. The Last King of Scotland is adapted from a novel by Giles Foden and tells the story of Amin’s horrific reign through the eyes of a some-what fictional character, Nick Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young doctor who has traveled from Scotland hoping to do some good with his medical talents. He befriends two married doctors in a small village; he begins to fall for Sarah (Gillian Anderson), despite the fact that she is a married woman. After a car accident Nick is asked to help treat the president’s wounds and Nick’s out spoken behavior impresses Amin who then asks Nick to become his personal physician. Nick agrees for personal and professional reasons and is immediately intoxicated by his new found importance and life of luxury, until he begins to see the mayhem the president is inflicting upon the people, then realizing he could share the same fate he tries to make a desperate escape out of Uganda. This is a powerful story, compelling and intriguing; however there is a lull in the middle of the movie where I feel it tended to drag a bit. James McAvoy is truly outstanding and completely captivating and I feel should have also been nominated for his performance as Nicolas. Director Kevin MacDonald who is acclaimed as a documentary filmmaker is able to succeed at depicting the same sort of feel for this movie as well, which I believe made it very unique and riveting. The Last King of Scotland is not available in MoPix so some parts may be a little hard to follow; some of it is very visual but can be filled in with the help of a friend. It is an exceptional story that is definitely worth seeing.
(Twentieth Century Fox)
Starring: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy and Gillian Anderson
