Le Dernier Roi d'Écosse

There have been so few pictures this year that are standouts. This movie is one of them. Much of what you will see is true, and did occur in Uganda's history. Amin's doctor, played by James Macavoy, is the main fiction in the movie, but one would think they are watching a historical event. Macavoy's character is so real. The doctor grows from a free thinking, adventure loving, womanizer, to a scared, concerned, and enlightened person. The viewer watches through Macavoys eyes as he witnesses the horrors of Amin's (Forest Whitaker's) presidency and regime.

Forest Whitaker, IS Amin in this feature. Whitaker is not the silent sometimes brooding character you remember in other films he has been in. His accent,his face, and his emotions seem to no longer be Whitaker's but Amin's. This movie will scare the viewer because of its realism, and how it builds up to a tension that is hard to endure. The visuals are not for the squeamish. Go ahead and hide your eyes during the "tough" scenes. It is still worth seeing this movie for the fast paced story, realistic drama, fascinating tale, and for the unbelievable acting. By the end of the movie the audience is exhausted, but satisfied that they saw a worthy flick.

How can an actor terrify you without saying a word, without even hardly moving his face or body? I'm not sure how he does it, but Mr. Whitaker does it over and over again in this movie. And then he turns around the next minute and becomes giant hug-able teddy bear superhero. Forget all the others, this is the best horror film of the year. This movie, and his performance in particular, grab hold of you and never let go. Whitaker should win an Oscar for best actor, I've never seen a better performance in my life. Also notable is the Nicholas Garrigan character who is written and acted very skilfully to draw the (non-African) spectator into the world of Uganda and Amin. The way his character willingly "falls into" Amin's web of charisma somehow goes a long way toward mitigating the racist potential of a story about a very troubled (African black) man. The way the interplay of the two lead character's cultural backgrounds plays out on screen moves the story beyond just their personalities and into the realm of incisive socio-political analysis and critique. This movie is quite incredible, really.

It is important to learn and understand history. This is evident, not only, with good history, but with bad history as well. Even though you really shouldn't rely on a movie for historical accuracy, at least a film reminds you about that moment, hopefully prompting you to look into it more. This is the story about the Ugandan President, Idi Amin, who rose to power in the 1970s. Idi Amin, became President of Uganda on January 25th, 1971. He is played brilliantly by Forest Whitaker. James McAvoy is cast a fictional character that becomes Amin's private physician. This film is based on a 1998 novel, by the same name, written by Giles Foden. McAvoy's character was based on real associates of Amin, but was fictionalized to further the impact of this story as a biopic film. Foden used information from different associates, research and a combination of fiction and true history. This is a normal story-telling device in film, that is seen in many film biopics.

McAvoy (Dr. Nicholas Garrigan), is a ladies man, who just graduated from medical school and for some odd reason he picks Uganda as the place where he wants to start his practice. One day, he is summoned to help Amin after a car accident. Amin immediately takes a liking to Nicholas and asks him to be his private physician and advisor. What Nicholas doesn't foresee is a future where Amin goes nuts. If you look back in history, Amin, amid all the media and chaos, was depicted as a madman. Forest Whitaker explores this scenario quite well. He shows you a lighter side of Amin, but also has the great acting skills to show you Amin's dark paranoid side. Once the film really takes off, you begin to understand how weird Amin really was. It reminds you, that it was a good thing his reign came to an end.

I also want to bring in a comparison. If you have seen Seth Rogan and James Franco's, The Interview (2014), before you have seen Last King of Scotland (2006), or vice-verse, enjoy this comparison, because it only enhances the excellent work, that McAvoy and Whitaker did in this film. In The Interview (2014), James Franco's character becomes best-buddies with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. Of course, all of this is fictional, as well as, a comedy. It has the ridiculous scenario of these two guys being good buddies, either through ignorance or craziness. Well, as you watch Franco and Randall Park (President Kim), interact in their film, think of McAvoy and Whitaker in this film, a serious film, but the results are almost, dead-on, the same. It further enhances the craziness and paranoia of Amin's character and shows, either through ignorance, stupidity or just bad luck that Dr. Nicholas got involved with this nut in the first place. None of this is more evident than at the very end, during the end credits, when director Kevin Macdonald, decides to flash up real footage of Idi Amin. He shows us the real Idi Amin's eyes and face, which solidifies the truth about how really nuts this guy was. It's all in the eyes. You need to see this film.

8.1 (B MyGrade) = 8 IMDB.

The newly qualified Dr Nicholas Garrigan travels to Uganda to take up a post with a village mission. He arrives just after a coup puts Idi Amin in power of the country. During a visit by Amim to the village, Garrigan captures the President's attention by tending to a small injury to his hand and showing himself decisive and strong-willed. It is not long before the young Garrigan finds himself appointed as physician to the President and ensconced as one of his "closest advisors". However the initial charm shown by Amin gives way to a darker violent streak as Garrigan finds the superficial stability of the country and its leader is nothing of the sort.

Famous now for the performance that will deservedly win an Oscar in a few weeks time, this film actually doesn't have Amin as the "main" character despite him being the draw and the title character. Instead we actually spend a lot of time with Garrigan, his experiences and his problems. Of course I understand why this was the way because Garrigan is out narrative device – a composite character who acts as our way into the inner circle of Amin and allows the audience to experience him as outsiders as well. This works well in doing this but it does also introduce problems, or at least one problem. This is the fact that, as the story goes on, we find ourselves more and more focused on Garrigan (who doesn't actually exist) rather than Amin or Uganda (who did and does exist respectively). I found this a bit irritating as it got worse because I had come to the film for Amin – as, I suspect, many will have done.

Even with this though the film still works well and makes for an engaging piece. Macdonald's direction is good and his moving camera does give it the air of a documentary while still very much being a drama. Of course the thing that makes the film work is the central performance from Whitaker. The character of Amin allows him to play to his strengths and he delivers a convincingly unhinged turn, constantly menacing but also managing to have a child-like sense of fun at times and a terrifying tendency towards ruthlessness and violence. I have said before, he was brilliant in The Shield (making the whole season his own) and he is equally brilliant here. Alongside this it is no surprise that McAvoy is a bit weak by comparison. His character is not so convincing (a side effect of being a composite) and some of the narrative turns ask a lot of him – he is still good and it is not his fault that he is in Whitaker's shadow. Washington has a small role but was pretty good in it even if her presence made me wonder why they felt they had to cast an American actress, likewise Anderson but I assume that they helped get funding so fair enough. McBurney is a bit too slimy and sinister and I wasn't sure what the film was trying to say. Audiences may also recognise Oyelowo from his recent high-profile roles in HBO's Five Days and BBC's controversial Shoot The Messenger.

Overall then not a perfect film but a pretty good one. The use of Garrigan is good at getting us into the story but it is a weakness that we stick with him as the focus. The performances are roundly good but of course it is another terrific turn from Whitaker that makes every scene he is in worth seeing.

Greetings again from the darkness. A true tour de force by Forest Whitaker ... the best performance of the year so far! Somehow Mr. Whitaker captures the madness and charm of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Amin was one of the first political rock stars. He used the media to his advantage as his regime slaughtered hundreds of thousands of his countrymen.

Also impressive is James McAvoy ("Chronicles of Narnia") who plays the dramatized Nicholas Garrigan, a young doctor who sets out on an adventure to make a difference in a small country and ends up counseling one of the most powerful madmen in history. Scottish documentarian Kevin Macdonald directs the film with only a few lapses in directness, which serve this biopic very well. Watching Amin and the young doctor immerse themselves in the shower of power is both frightening and sickening. Macdonald captures this spirit very well thanks mostly to his willingness to let his two leads do their thing.

As Amin laughs and tells Garrigan that "You are my closest adviser", I couldn't help but compare to Kathy Bates telling James Caan (in "Misery") that "I'm your number one fan". The evil and insanity is simply chilling. Whitaker is just amazing as he flips the switch from media darling to cold blooded, ruthless murderer ... and then back again. Just a terrific performance and well worth the price of admission - maybe a couple of times! Good for a laugh is the most unique version of Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee" that you have ever heard ... guaranteed! See this one for a bit of history and the site of a real monster, but also for one of the best film performances ever.