The Last King of Scotland
Filmmaker Kevin MacDonald has made several documentaries, most notably One Day in September and Touching the Void. In fact, One Day in September won an Oscar for Best
Documentary a number of years ago. The Last King of Scotland is his first feature film and it is a fine piece of work indeed.
Screenwriters Jeremy Brock and Peter Morgan (who also wrote the screenplay for The Queen) adapted the screenplay from Giles Foden's novel of the same name (the book and film are based on fact but, obviously, not everything that we see actually happened). The focus of the film is the reign of terror in Uganda in the 70s brought on by its president Idi Amin.
The story starts out in Scotland when young doctor Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) decides that he doesn't want to work in his father's practice. He wants more adventure and spins the globe to see where his finger will land. The first place is Canada, which he has no interest in. But the second place is Uganda and that is a destination that sounds exciting.
Garrigan arrives in Uganda right after the overthrow of President Obote by General Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker). The people seem to be wildly happy and dance in the streets. Garrigan's mission is to help another doctor in a poor section of the country. Garrigan is enthralled with Amin when he hears him speak. And when Amin is hurt in an accident and Garrigan comes to the rescue a connection is established between the two men. Shortly thereafter Amin asks Garrigan to become his personal physician. At first Garrigan says no but how could he resist such an offer. Instead of living in poor accommodations he can now live in the lap of luxury and have a fabulous car to boot.
Some terrible things start to happen and at first Garrigan looks away. He can't believe that Amin would be capable of anything bad. But as time goes on he begins to change his mind and wants nothing more than to return to Scotland. That is easier said than done. I will not go into any more of the plot because I don't want to spoil if for anyone who wants to see this film.
As I mentioned before, MacDonald does a splendid job in his feature film debut. Brock and Morgan have nicely balanced the screenplay with some very intense and heavy moments as well as some scenes that have a good amount of humor. McAvoy does a good job of portraying a man that is not all that likeable. After all, didn't he come to Africa to help poor people? We find out that he seems to be nothing more than an opportunist looking for a good break and a woman to bed. One of his conquests is Amin's wife Kay (one of his several wives). She is nicely played by Kerry Washington in a small but crucial role. Unfortunately, Gillian Anderson is wasted as Sarah Merrit, the wife of the doctor that Garrigan came to Uganda to work with. But, this film belongs to Whitaker. His Amin is funny, charming, evil and scary all at the same time. He looms larger than life and I was truly mesmerized by his performance.
Last King of Scotland is a very good film that is made even better by Forest Whitaker. The last twenty minutes or so are absolutely riveting and really get your adrenalin going. I don't know how the film will do come awards season. That is hard to say. But I am sure that Whitaker will, at the very least, get an Oscar nomination for his performance (I thought that he would be lead but some people are saying he is supporting because McAvoy had more onscreen time - I guess we will have to wait and see). I highly recommend this film to anyone who wants to see a good political thriller and one of the best performances of the year.
Documentary a number of years ago. The Last King of Scotland is his first feature film and it is a fine piece of work indeed.
Screenwriters Jeremy Brock and Peter Morgan (who also wrote the screenplay for The Queen) adapted the screenplay from Giles Foden's novel of the same name (the book and film are based on fact but, obviously, not everything that we see actually happened). The focus of the film is the reign of terror in Uganda in the 70s brought on by its president Idi Amin.
The story starts out in Scotland when young doctor Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) decides that he doesn't want to work in his father's practice. He wants more adventure and spins the globe to see where his finger will land. The first place is Canada, which he has no interest in. But the second place is Uganda and that is a destination that sounds exciting.
Garrigan arrives in Uganda right after the overthrow of President Obote by General Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker). The people seem to be wildly happy and dance in the streets. Garrigan's mission is to help another doctor in a poor section of the country. Garrigan is enthralled with Amin when he hears him speak. And when Amin is hurt in an accident and Garrigan comes to the rescue a connection is established between the two men. Shortly thereafter Amin asks Garrigan to become his personal physician. At first Garrigan says no but how could he resist such an offer. Instead of living in poor accommodations he can now live in the lap of luxury and have a fabulous car to boot.
Some terrible things start to happen and at first Garrigan looks away. He can't believe that Amin would be capable of anything bad. But as time goes on he begins to change his mind and wants nothing more than to return to Scotland. That is easier said than done. I will not go into any more of the plot because I don't want to spoil if for anyone who wants to see this film.
As I mentioned before, MacDonald does a splendid job in his feature film debut. Brock and Morgan have nicely balanced the screenplay with some very intense and heavy moments as well as some scenes that have a good amount of humor. McAvoy does a good job of portraying a man that is not all that likeable. After all, didn't he come to Africa to help poor people? We find out that he seems to be nothing more than an opportunist looking for a good break and a woman to bed. One of his conquests is Amin's wife Kay (one of his several wives). She is nicely played by Kerry Washington in a small but crucial role. Unfortunately, Gillian Anderson is wasted as Sarah Merrit, the wife of the doctor that Garrigan came to Uganda to work with. But, this film belongs to Whitaker. His Amin is funny, charming, evil and scary all at the same time. He looms larger than life and I was truly mesmerized by his performance.
Last King of Scotland is a very good film that is made even better by Forest Whitaker. The last twenty minutes or so are absolutely riveting and really get your adrenalin going. I don't know how the film will do come awards season. That is hard to say. But I am sure that Whitaker will, at the very least, get an Oscar nomination for his performance (I thought that he would be lead but some people are saying he is supporting because McAvoy had more onscreen time - I guess we will have to wait and see). I highly recommend this film to anyone who wants to see a good political thriller and one of the best performances of the year.
posted by Film Fanatic | 3:52 PM
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