Festival Films

The Last King of Scotland

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Directed by: Kevin Macdonald

Cast: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Simon McBurney, David Oyelowo

Runtime: 121 mins

Forest Whitaker’s ferociously charismatic portrayal of Idi Amin so dominates that it is honestly difficult to pay attention to anything else in this political thriller. But, he is not the protagonist of the story. That role belongs to James McAvoy, who plays Nicholas Garrigan, a Scottish doctor who ventures into Uganda to satisfy his need for adventure after graduating medical school.

By an incident, Garrigan is called upon to help Amin with a minor sprain after his private car plows into a cow. Impressed by the young man’s lack of hesitancy to take action, Amin appoints Garrigan to be his personal physician, a post that seduces the impressed doctor into the Ugandan dictator’s political circle and extravagant lifestyle.

Director Kevin MacDonald creates the most realistic, feeling atmosphere in capturing the oppressive Uganda of the 1970’s. Screenwriters Peter Morgan (who also wrote “The Queen”) and Jeremy Brock have developed a sharply character study of Amin, who evolved from a leader giving hope to his people to a tyrant conducting murders on an unimaginable scale. It is impossible to over-praise Whitaker’s towering performance here. His relationship with Garrigan turns out to be the plot’s essential point, although the contrast between the two is extremely different.

While McAvoy admirably captures the boyish nature of Garrigan, the character evolves much slowly making it interesting as the story progresses. To intensify the political upheaval , the plot takes a wicked turn into an adulterous affair. It’s all exciting and even terrifyingly brutalizing towards the end. Kerry Washington shows genuine versatility as Amin’s third wife Kay, while Simon McBurney suceeds in creating a suspicious atmosphere with ease as a British operative.

The ending scenes are not for the weak hearted but that will not stop anyone from watching this film.