Forest Whitaker is electrifying with his title role in ‘The Last King of Scotland’ playing the reviled Ugandan dictator General Idi Amin – a man who was able to charm a nation into a reign of terror that lasted almost ten years and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Based on Giles Foden’s award-winning 1998 novel of the same name, the film is able to examine this dictator through the eyes of a fictional young Scottish doctor capably played by James McAvoy – a character created to give some semblance of the effect that Amin was able to convey to his people and to the people closely surrounding him. This disparity between charm and menace is what makes this role so magnetic as played by Whitaker.
Forest Whitaker has been a solid acting presence for more than 25 years with notable early roles in films as varied as ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ and ‘Platoon’ but real promise showed up in Clint Eastwood’s 1988 ‘Bird’ where Whitaker played troubled jazz musician Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker which won him the Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival. A variety of supporting stints in the early to mid-nineties, ‘The Crying Game’ among them, led to a moderately successful directing career with chick-flicks ‘Waiting to Exhale’ and ‘Hope Floats’ which cemented his reputation as a ‘gentle giant.’
This was the role he had been waiting for. Capitalizing on his perceived humanistic, indecisive persona, he combined that with a quiet underlying tension, a rage that resulted in one of the single best performances of last year. Some have complained that his role is more of a supporting one, taking a backseat to the Scottish doctor, but I agree with the filmmakers that this was the most effective method in bringing Amin to the screen – it could have easily been too much of a good thing.
Granted, a lot of the plot turns involving the Scottish physician Nicholas Garrigan (McAvoy) are convenient at best, yet the film was able to rise above such faults by the pure professionalism of the cast and crew. Garrigan is a naïve young man fresh out of Med School in Scotland who literally screams at the urge to get away from his nothing-is-ever-good-enough father. A silly scene has him choose Uganda as his place for adventure with the ‘ol point the finger at the globe game where we’re treated to some beautifully-filmed scenes of the Ugandan countryside during the opening credits as he travels by bus to his volunteered mission clinic destination.
I could have done without the flippancy of some sequences where our young white man protagonist stops off of his bus trip for a night to pleasure a young Ugandan woman, and scenes soon to follow where he becomes enamored with the wife, Sarah Merrit (Gillian Anderson), of the local doctor but luckily the meat of the story starts soon enough. Garrigan, like the rest of Uganda, seems to trust this Amin character that rose to rule after overthrowing the scandal-ridden Obote leadership, a general who seems to be a man of the people quick to smile and laugh and make mighty statements about his people having big houses and driving big cars. When an incident with a cow causes Amin a need for a doctor, Garrigan is quickly entrusted into Amin’s inner circle due to a combination of balls and being Scottish (the movie gets it’s name from Amin’s self-claim that he is ‘The Last King of Scotland’ due to his passion for the Scottish people and his distrust of the British).
Accepting Amin’s offer to become his personal physician, Garrigan is at first taken by this magnanimous character that enjoys several wives, pool parties and wearing a kilt. Amin brings Garrigan in closer and proclaims him one of his advisors which grant him access to the power of Amin and fatefully one of the president’s wives, Kay (Kerry Washington) where a rapport is developed right away between the two. Slowly, of course, Garrigan’s naiveté becomes increasingly less as he sees the paranoid and unstable side of Amin – and realizes that he has unwittingly become a pawn or his ‘white monkey’ in Amin’s power-hungry self-rule where he has been torturing and killing anyone that poses a threat.
Directed with finesse and a fine-eye for realism by Oscar-winning documentarian Kevin MacDonald who helmed the great ‘One Day in September’ and the dramatic retelling ‘Touching the Void,’ the film is able to avoid most of the negative trappings associated with the superfluous white-mans point of view takes as seen in other films like ‘The Last Samurai’ and ‘Blood Diamond’ (hmm…both Ed Zwick films … yet he also made the best of these films with ‘Glory’).
MacDonald brings a documentary feel to the project that is able to weave political happenings and character study along with an entertainment-driven focal point in the Scottish doctor which provides a pathway to the suspense. This combination reminded of Fernando Mereilles’ splendid adaptation of John Le Carre’s novel, ‘The Constant Gardner.’ Making the smart move of actually filming in Uganda, MacDonald gives the audience a chance to see some of the real-world locations of these atrocities.
That the film is still a far cry from Barbet Schroeder’s 1971 documentary ‘General Idi Amin Dada’ who was provided amazing access to the real man (available on Criterion DVD) is no surprise but ‘The Last King of Scotland’ would make a great companion piece to the above documentary to really appreciate just how right Whitaker got this man.
The film, surprisingly, isn’t near as violent as I thought it would be with most of the violence happening off-screen leading up to the ‘A Man Called Horse’ climatic exception. This method is able to sustain a slow-burn effect that really ups the tension throughout the picture as we know a clash is inevitable.
James McAvoy is quite good in the film even if the script sometimes lets him down. Particularly with his numerous dalliances with the ladies which, frankly, seems misguided. Although his last interest becomes a major plot point, overall, I found myself not caring too much about this young man’s romantic pursuits when Whitaker’s entrancing performance is waiting off-frame somewhere. McAvoy and Washington both bring conviction to their roles, though, and are able to guide us through this slight stretch of credibility.
The film is presented in 2.35:1 widescreen and is enhanced for widescreen televisions. The ‘Special Screening Copy’ provided for review is a head-scratcher considering some major DVD-R problems like heavy compression – problems that shouldn’t be on the final product. Peculiar that Fox would provide an inferior presentation to the very people that would recommend their products. Special Features include an audio commentary with director Kevin MacDonald who was able to keep my attention with his various information even if Whitaker’s lack of participation is sorely missed. 12 minutes of Deleted Scenes are next with optional director commentary - a lot of small moments but worth watching. The best feature is the thirty-minute ‘Capturing Idi Amin’ featurette which combines historical footage with behind-the-scenes footage to give an intriguing, more in-depth look at the General.
Two shorter featurettes are next with ‘Forest Whitaker: Idi Amin’ where Whitaker talks about his preparation for the role and ‘Fox Movie Channel Casting Session’ that includes various cast interviews. The films theatrical trailer rounds out the extras.
Besides a few issues with the script, I found the film to be a taut thriller with great performances across the board. Whitaker obviously being the standout here with a role he was destined for (he never stepped foot in Africa before his three and a half months of research in Uganda) – a superbly nuanced, effective performance, and one that I’ll know I’ll be returning to. Not completely flawless but still one of the best films of last year.
The Last King of Scotland is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a May 14th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
operating thetan blockerApr 18th, 2007 - 03:55:24
great review. well done
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