The Last King Of Scotland

Some roles seem crafted with a specific actor in mind; others rend the performer impossible to recognize. The latter often involve research, accent coaches, makeup, prosthetics, and physical conditioning.  Portraying Idi Amin is one such role, it turns the generally soft-spoken and gentle Forest Whitaker into a loud and brash African dictator who is two parts genocidal psycho to one part populist hero. Coupled with director Kevin Macdonald’s stylish yet sober vision of Uganda the film requires little suspension of disbelief. The movie follows the journeys of fictional physician Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) as he travels to Uganda to escape the mundane trappings of working in his father’s medical practice. In Africa he finds some sense of purpose hanging out with the righteous crowd and spending his days vaccinating and operating on villagers. Still this doesn’t quite quench his youthful appetites; his efforts feel thankless to him, and the wife (Gillian Anderson) of the physician he works for just refuses to put out.

A chance encounter with Idi Amin leads to a position as his personal physician and as time passes he also becomes the general’s closest personal advisor. Life of course is a lot easier within the bubble of palace life and, except for distant rumblings and an assassination attempt, is hard for Nicholas to tell that anything bad is going on beyond the walls. Enter conflict in the fine form of Kay Amin (Kerry Washington), one of the general’s wives that has been cast aside for producing a heir with epilepsy. Nicholas quickly bonds with her but mostly disregards her warnings as to how dangerous her husband has become. Under the thrall of Idi’s remarkable charisma Nicholas grows in power, attending government functions and speaking on behalf of the nation of Uganda. This position attracts the attention of English agents, who Nicholas repeatedly turns away assuming they are only there looking for a way to rob the nation of its independence. Latter when Nicholas finds out just how bad things really are and the movie shifts gears from faux biography to a suspenseful attempt to escape back to Scotland, providing a thrilling final act.

Finally I love aural aspect of the movie, it really belongs to a specific time and place flaunting 70’s culture and music left and right. The soundtrack is packed with good stuff ranging from funk to traditional and folk music and sneaks in several great covers of pop songs sung by African artists.