The Last King of Scotland (Widescreen)

I first heard about this movie when it came out around 2006, I usually like biographies but I wasn't in a hurry to see that one since it seemed excellent but extremely violent... They advertised it as being based on real-life events, so I bought the DVD figuring it might have something to do with President Joseph Mobutu of Zaire, since I knew he had a personal American physician for 17 year, who as it turn out was the father of Hollywood actress Glenn Close... However President Mobutu was very peaceful and a president beloved by the population for all his tenure... As it turn out it's a more or less accurate depiction of real-life dictator Idi Amin Dada, who proclaimed himself "Africa's Adolf Hitler" and who ruled Uganda from 1971 to 1979. It's hard to know if the depiction made in this movie is accurate, but according to Wikipedia his 10-years rule has been characterized by "political repression, ethnic persecution, extrajudicial killings, nepotism, corruption, and gross economic mismanagement." The number of people killed during his tenure is estimated by international observers to range from 100 000 up to 500 000, and his behavior during the last years of his rule have apparently been deemed "erratic and outspoken". He died in Saudi Arabia in 2003, and at the time of his death his only income was a 1400$ monthly allowance he was reportedly receiving from the Saudi government. Regarding the movie in itself the only useful thing to say is that it's violent but really worth seeing and entertaining, it's one of the rare movies to had been filmed entirely on location in Africa... Forest Whittaker won an Oscar for his noteworthy performance.

As much as I enjoyed this film Forest Whitaker's portrayal of Idi Amin is frightening. When you first meet Amin he is fun, approachable and it was easy to find inspiration in his words and personality. Throughout the movie his personality changes from inspiring to paranoid and terrifying. Whitaker's performance flows naturally in and out of these two men trapped in one body. He never misplaces his anger in a sweet scene; his glints of admiration never seep out during a frenzied rant. Whitaker avoids all hints of schizophrenia and ignores all opportunities to dive into multiple personality disorder. Garrigan is unaware of what's happening in Uganda at first, but even after he realizes what Amin is doing, he does nothing to stop him. During the movie, I had to restrain myself from yelling at Garrigan to stop what he's doing, to leave right away or to just do what had to be done. McAvoy's seamlessly grows his character from an acorn to a diseased oak.

The supporting cast isn't outshined by the main characters. Kerry Washington plays Kay Amin, Idi Amin's third wife. Her performance is tender, perplexing and sexy. Gillian Anderson plays Sarah Merrit, Garrigan's first love interest in the story. Her sage words and cool demeanor will be left ringing in your ears by the end of the movie. Simon McBurney, Nigel Stone's character, is monstrous in the covert, James Bond sort of way. His maniacal character is not over acted, absolutely to the credit to Stone.

Jeremy Brock and Peter Morgan use an historic figure to tell a cautionary tale about what happens when you let fear decide who runs your country and what happens when your blind ambition overrules your moral center. Their characters are complete and lacking no texture. The temptation to make characters who are strictly monsters or heroes is avoided. Each character, even Amin, is not strictly good, nor bad, but products of their circumstances. I found the recipe for creating a monster far too realistic to be comfortable and for that I thank the writers for giving me the opportunity to feel that level of discomfort. Even the hero of this movie is only slightly heroic; leaving the melodramatic phony heroics for a superhero movie. Garrigan's transformation left me wondering if I could be any stronger than he is, given the situation he got himself into. I was impressed that the cinematographers and directors made a point of changing the camera style, lighting and framing to fit the mood of the movie. There are scenes where the sweat on someone's face seems radiant in the dark. There is an impressive use of light to set mood that doesn't fall into the cliché parenthesis.

This shattered my personal peace. It has left me to question my own behavior. Have I paid enough attention to my own life? Have I let raw, unadulterated ambition kill parts of my humanity? What would I do in that situation? At what point would I run screaming from Uganda? Can we afford to be afraid and let that fear color our decisions when it comes to our government? How can I tell if someone is a monster when they are so charismatic? Has my ambition hurt other people?" The Last King of Scotland" is a heart pounding drama that left me uneasy, utterly disappointed with the quality of the characters' behavior and inspired by the quality of the film making. Missing this movie would be bad for your cinematic knowledge and for your personal growth.

Dr Garrigan (James McAvoy) expects to find exotism in Uganda. He certainly will find it, especially after meeting the country's President, Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) and becoming his personal physician. A chain of events will change Garrigan's life, forever.

Absolutely wonderful, brilliant cast. I especially approve of Whitaker's "African" accent in English. Excellent portrayal of those people. McAvoy's character is extremely naive and he does a great acting job.

The ending may be quite shocking to some, I myself couldn't bear to watch a few minutes of very gruesome (but necessary and justified) violence (after 1h45 minutes of watching).

Certainly not a disappointment.
A well directed film, I highly recommend it.