The Last King of Scotland (2006) User Reviews (403)

Idi Amin, Entertainer

[janos451 · 8/10 · 28 September 2006]

Life, unlike bad movies, is seldom obvious. In life, murderous dictators don't appear - especially at first - as mustache-twirling Snidley Whiplash figures, cackling madly (although Mussolini came close). The scary truth about monsters is that they are three-dimensional beings, not cardboard cutouts, who just kill a lot of people, but otherwise put their pants on one leg at a time, like you and I, and that makes them so much scarier than if they came from another planet.

In the best film of the "dictator genre," Oliver Hirschbiegel's brilliant "Downfall," Hitler appears as a man who is kind to his dog and his secretary (roughly in that order), and the impact of the work is all the greater as we witness what a "real person" is capable of doing. In Luis Puenzo's "The Official Story," Pinochet's reign of terror is depicted through a single act of violence, as a door is slammed on Norma Aleandro's hand; the effect is stunning and "real."

In the hands of a less talented director, the story of Idi Amin would be told against mountains of skulls and bones left behind by Uganda's mad ruler in the 1970s. (His total toll is estimated at 300,000.) In Kevin Macdonald's complex, intelligent, gripping "The Last King of Scotland," more than half of the two-hour film subtly implies, hints at the dark forces underneath normalcy while "life goes on."

And so, having established real contact with the audience, a jolly and seductive Forest Whitaker then takes our breath away as the mask comes off, and his Amin reaches out from the screen for your throat.

Macdonald - whose previous works are documentaries, including the Oscar-winning "One Day in September," about the Munich Olympics terrorist incident - looks at Amin through the eyes of a young Scottish doctor (James McAvoy), a well-meaning, honest humanitarian slowly seduced by the Scots-loving Amin, who appoints him his personal doctor and then adviser.

The McAvoy character is fictional (although Amin did have a Scottish doctor), coming from Giles Foden's novel of the same name, but just about everything else in the film is based on fact - so much so that some documentary footage is smoothly integrated into the film. And yet, what's important and outstanding about "Last King" is that just as a painting can surpass a photograph in presenting reality, this film conveys the seduction and horror of a brutal dictatorship indirectly, subtly, unexpectedly.

Unexpected - and welcome - are the many flashes of humor, both Whitaker (dictator with personality) and McAvoy (eager pup of a doctor with overactive hormones) making the best of it. The tone is set in the opening sequence, as the frustrated, suppressed young Dr. Garrigan spins a small globe, swearing repeatedly that he will move to the first spot ("the first!") where he points when the globe stops. The first spot turns out to be Canada. McAvoy/Garrigan takes one look, hesitates... and spins again. And so to Uganda...

The linear, freely-flowing story-telling is masterful, taking us from the small village where Dr. Garrigan comes to do good and ends up doing well through a chance meeting with Amin, to Kampala, much court intrigue and colorful depravity (even as the fate of a nation is at stake), and eventually to Entebbe.

Fun and games, authentic scenery (the film was shot in Uganda), subtlety, psychology, a heart-pounding scene at Entebbe (after the hijacking, but before the Israeli rescue), nudity, sex, violence, harrowing questions about "what would you do," and all - "Last King" is a wonderful compendium of facts and greater truths. Also, a hell of a good movie.

Whitaker's Towering Portrayal of the Mesmerizing Ugandan Dictator Lifts This Historical Fiction

[EUyeshima · 8/10 · 2 February 2007]

Forest Whitaker's ferociously charismatic turn as Idi Amin so dominates this intense historical fiction that it is honestly difficult to pay attention to anything else in this 2006 political thriller. Even though he is definitively the emotional locus, he is intriguingly not the protagonist of the story. That role belongs to young James McAvoy, who plays Nicholas Garrigan, a precocious Scottish doctor who ventures to Uganda to satisfy his need for adventure after graduating medical school. By happenstance, 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 inner circle and extravagant lifestyle.

Scottish director Kevin MacDonald brings his extensive documentary film-making skills to the fore here, as he creates a most realistic-feeling atmosphere in capturing the oppressive Uganda of the 1970's. Helping considerably with this image are the vibrant color contrasts in Anthony Dod Mantle's cinematography and the propulsive action induced by Justine Wright's sharp editing. Screenwriters Peter Morgan (who also wrote "The Queen") and Jeremy Brock have developed a sharply delineated character study of Amin, who evolves from a magnetic leader giving hope to his people to a scarifying tyrant conducting murders on an imaginable scale (at least until the genocides in Rwanda and Darfur). It is impossible to over-praise Whitaker's towering performance here. He conveys the dictator's playfulness as well as his unmitigated rage moving from simmering to full boil with a power that is at once bravura and subtle. His relationship with the fictionalized Garrigan turns out to be the plot's essential pivot point, although the contrast between the two can be almost too extreme at times.

While McAvoy admirably captures the boyish naiveté of Garrigan, the character is drawn out in rather broad strokes that make his self-delusion all the more contrived as the story progresses. To intensify the political upheaval portrayed, the plot takes a melodramatic turn into an adulterous affair and even folds in the infamous 1976 Entebbe hijacking incident to illustrate Garrigan's increasingly precarious situation. It's all exciting and even downright brutalizing toward the end, but it also starts to feel a bit too Hollywood in execution. Kerry Washington shows genuine versatility as Amin's cloistered third wife Kay, while Simon McBurney oozes cynical suspicion with ease as a British operative. A convincingly Brit-accented Gillian Anderson makes her few scenes count as a weary clinic worker who proves to have better instincts than Garrigan. But see the movie for Whitaker's magnificent work. He is that good.

Forrest Whitaker alone is worth the price of admission

[jimpyke · 9/10 · 24 October 2006]

How can an actor terrify you without saying a word, without even hardly moving his face or body? I'm not sure how he does it, but Mr. Whitaker does it over and over again in this movie. And then he turns around the next minute and becomes giant hug-able teddy bear superhero. Forget all the others, this is the best horror film of the year. This movie, and his performance in particular, grab hold of you and never let go. Whitaker should win an Oscar for best actor, I've never seen a better performance in my life. Also notable is the Nicholas Garrigan character who is written and acted very skilfully to draw the (non-African) spectator into the world of Uganda and Amin. The way his character willingly "falls into" Amin's web of charisma somehow goes a long way toward mitigating the racist potential of a story about a very troubled (African black) man. The way the interplay of the two lead character's cultural backgrounds plays out on screen moves the story beyond just their personalities and into the realm of incisive socio-political analysis and critique. This movie is quite incredible, really.

A Taut Political Thriller

[CalRhys · 5 July 2014]

Gripping, brutal and powerful, 'The Last King of Scotland' is a brilliant dramatic depiction of the life of megalomaniac Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin, perfectly portrayed by Forest Whitaker in his Oscar-winning performance as one of the greatest casting against type roles seen in film. His Amin is capricious and unpredictable, a personality that can seem volcanic one moment and vulnerable a few minutes later. A blunt and brutal tale, and one that is highly engaging from start to finish. A taut political thriller about power and corruption. Macdonald's riveting and incandescent direction caps this fictionalised drama, a truly stunning flick that remains as a highlight of film in 2006.

Basically this is excellent historical fiction about the torturous Idi Amin

[justgazin · 9/10 · 24 September 2006]

There have been so few pictures this year that are standouts. This movie is one of them. Much of what you will see is true, and did occur in Uganda's history. Amin's doctor, played by James Macavoy, is the main fiction in the movie, but one would think they are watching a historical event. Macavoy's character is so real. The doctor grows from a free thinking, adventure loving, womanizer, to a scared, concerned, and enlightened person. The viewer watches through Macavoys eyes as he witnesses the horrors of Amin's (Forest Whitaker's) presidency and regime.

Forest Whitaker, IS Amin in this feature. Whitaker is not the silent sometimes brooding character you remember in other films he has been in. His accent,his face, and his emotions seem to no longer be Whitaker's but Amin's. This movie will scare the viewer because of its realism, and how it builds up to a tension that is hard to endure. The visuals are not for the squeamish. Go ahead and hide your eyes during the "tough" scenes. It is still worth seeing this movie for the fast paced story, realistic drama, fascinating tale, and for the unbelievable acting. By the end of the movie the audience is exhausted, but satisfied that they saw a worthy flick.

You're My Closest Adviser

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 1 November 2006]

Greetings again from the darkness. A true tour de force by Forest Whitaker ... the best performance of the year so far! Somehow Mr. Whitaker captures the madness and charm of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Amin was one of the first political rock stars. He used the media to his advantage as his regime slaughtered hundreds of thousands of his countrymen.

Also impressive is James McAvoy ("Chronicles of Narnia") who plays the dramatized Nicholas Garrigan, a young doctor who sets out on an adventure to make a difference in a small country and ends up counseling one of the most powerful madmen in history. Scottish documentarian Kevin Macdonald directs the film with only a few lapses in directness, which serve this biopic very well. Watching Amin and the young doctor immerse themselves in the shower of power is both frightening and sickening. Macdonald captures this spirit very well thanks mostly to his willingness to let his two leads do their thing.

As Amin laughs and tells Garrigan that "You are my closest adviser", I couldn't help but compare to Kathy Bates telling James Caan (in "Misery") that "I'm your number one fan". The evil and insanity is simply chilling. Whitaker is just amazing as he flips the switch from media darling to cold blooded, ruthless murderer ... and then back again. Just a terrific performance and well worth the price of admission - maybe a couple of times! Good for a laugh is the most unique version of Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee" that you have ever heard ... guaranteed! See this one for a bit of history and the site of a real monster, but also for one of the best film performances ever.

Forest Whitaker-Scary as Hell

[WriterDave · 7/10 · 15 October 2006]

"The Last King of Scotland" is a slickly made powder keg of a film about Idi Amin's (Forest Whitaker) horrific dictatorship over Uganda in the 1970's as seen through the eyes of his fictionalized Scottish doctor (James McAvoy). Whitaker is mesmerizing from the word "go" and brilliantly displays how captivating a character Amin was: charming, theatrical, paranoid, and mad as hell.

Director Kevin MacDonald only alludes to the horrors (300,000 massacred) while delivering a music-video style account of the free-wheeling decadence of Amin's regime while he still played in favor to his people. Much of the film runs like the early parts of P.T. Anderson's "Boogie Nights" or any gangster saga from Scrorsese: hyper-edited, smoothly shot scenes depicting humor, violence, sex, nudity, and overly-indulged individuals new to money and power. It would've been more compelling had tighter focus been paid to Amin instead of the highly unlikable doctor character, who for the most part comes across as a flighty, over-educated twit with foggy ideas on good deeds and uncontrollable hormones that lead him to hounding after every marginally attractive married woman he comes across, including a barely recognizable Gillian Anderson donning a British accent, and Kerry Washington as Amin's third wife (duh, doc!).

About two-thirds of the way through, MacDonald lets Whitaker loose, and his rampage is awe-inspiring. It culminates in a pulse-pounding white-knuckle twenty minutes that muddle a historical event concerning Israeli hostages with the shockingly brutal finale of the young Scott's stay in Uganda. Again, it would've been more emotionally involving had the doctor been more deserving of our sympathy. Still, Whitaker is fuming and unforgettable. He totally embodies the spirit of the oft-discussed and debated mad dictator, so much so that when the closing credits roll and we see stock footage of the real Amin, you'd swear these were images of Idi Amin playing Forest Whitaker.

A Hugely Exciting African-Set Thriller

[evanston_dad · 9/10 · 21 October 2006]

With "The Last King of Scotland," Kevin MacDonald has created a bracing, exciting and totally satisfying thriller.

Forest Whitaker gives a titanic performance as Idi Amin, Ugandan dictator who rose to power in the 1970s. James McAvoy plays Nicholas Garrigan, a Scottish physician who travels to Uganda for the adventure and wins Amin's affections, becoming his personal doctor. Garrigan enters into a moral crisis as he begins to realize the kind of man Amin is, and begins to fear for his own life as events spiral more and more out of his control.

Whitaker seizes the chance to play this larger than life character and runs with it -- I've never seen Whitaker give so convincing and transforming a performance. However, as good as he is, McAvoy impressed me more. His performance as Garrigan is not as showy, but it's much more textured and subtle, and his character has the bigger arc from start to finish. Gillian Anderson also does terrific work in a small role as a fellow doctor, who understands things about Amin and the African culture that Garrigan does not.

Unlike other recent thrillers set in African nations ("The Constant Gardener," "Hotel Rwanda"), "The Last King of Scotland" is not greatly concerned with the geo-political implications of Amin's reign. The atrocities he committed against Ugandans are given only the barest of mentions, and the film sticks almost exclusively to Garrigan and the danger he himself faces. Some may think the film is irresponsible for this reason -- that the plight of one man pales in comparison to the plight of thousands, and I can see where a criticism like that is justified. But the movie packs a powerful wallop regardless, and complaints like this seem like quibbles when up against such an entertaining movie.

Grade: A

strong film, out shined by Whitaker

[nobbytatoes · 7/10 · 30 January 2007]

Kevin McDonald has been walking through documentaries for some time now. Historically significant events of One Day in September, biographies and the spellbinding re-enactment of mountain-climbing tragedy of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates in Touching the Void. The Last King of Scotland sees McDonald moving out of the documentary field, yet not stepping away from portraying a historical point of time. The Last King of Scotland, blending fact and fiction, circles around the appointment of Idi Amin as President of Uganda, and the beginning of his dictatorship.

After finishing his medical degree, Nicholas Garrigan wants a change of life, and escape from his father. Taking his new degree, Nicholas travels to Uganda, to help the sick while searching for adventure. Being taken to a car accident involving newly appointed leader Amin, Garrigan impresses Amin with his confidence, but mostly on his Scottish heritage. Taking a liking towards Garrigan, Amin appoints him as his personal physician. Garrigan is easily charmed by Amin, going up the ranks to Amin's consultant to right hand man, though Garrigan starts to question Amin's leadership when his real personality crawls out and becomes witness to many unsettling events.

The Last King of Scotland catches you off guard. Told throw Garrigan's eyes, our initial scenes take us through his travels, his work with the villages doctors, and the beginning of his friendship with Amin. Used as an easement of what's to come, all the civil unrest and killings under Amin's rule are all unseen, as Garrigan isn't witness to them; yet. The closer he get's to Amin and what was unseen now faced on, the darker Garrigan's journey becomes. His ideas of coming to Uganda to save the dying and look the savior shatter on his realisation of that simplicity, when clasped so tight to Amin, a man who almost has that sparkle in his eye, switches instantly to cold blooded murderer.

Kevin Macdonald shows his competence jumping from the documentary to feature film. Those initial scenes he takes you by the hand, as we start to spiral into this hellish world he taking us too. Trying to show us his craft as a film maker, he does push too hard than needed. Macdonald's directing is competent, but reaches didactic and awkward at times. This hits a point during Amin watching the film Deep Throat, trying to encapsulate his world of sleaze, along with his pool party where Garrigan makes his ultimate mistake. As the political side is only subtle laid in the background during the start, when Macdonald begins to play upon it, the darker themes move to the foreground, but fight with the paranoia edge of Garrigan's fight for survival and Amin's megalomania. Macdonald pushes one then the other, instead of wielding them in a double edged blade. While Macdonald's directing dips occasionally, there is outstanding cinematography from Anthony Dod Mantle, and viscerally executed violence, with a gut wrenching climax between Amin and Garrigan.

While The Last King of Scotland isn't told through Amin, Forest Whitaker is a commanding force to behold. Like Amin he charms you and draws you in to his world. As the charm fades, the vulgarity and sheer distaste to him build to one powerhouse performance from Whitaker. James McAvoy exudes Garrigan's cockiness and naivety, to a man simply saving his life. Gillian Anderson seems sorely underused as Sarah Merrit, with a character that isn't completely fleshed out.

A few awkward moments here and there weigh The Last King of Scotland down, but when this gets going, there is no stopping it.

Toxic temptations

[Chris Knipp · 8/10 · 30 September 2006]

In this film Kevin Macdonald, a Scot, directs James McAvoy, a Scot, as Nicholas Garrigan, a brash, spirited, and foolish young doctor just out of medical school in the early 1970's who overnight becomes a close associate of Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker), the new dictator of Uganda. Amin had served in the British army and developed an admiration for the Scots. He gave himself the title "His Excellency President for Life Field Marshal Al Hadji Dr. Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, King of Scotland, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular." He liked to dress his soldiers in kilts and have them sing Scottish songs.

Before this Macdonald made Touching the Void and other documentaries, including One Day in September, about the Munich Israeli Olympic team massacre. This film, which is not a documentary and departs freely from fact at least at certain key points, is based on the 1997 novel by Giles Foden, which concerns the doctor. But Macdonald's writers, including Jeremy Brock, who penned Mrs. Brown, and Peter Morgan, who scripted Frears' The Queen, have jazzed up the more bland original character and made him younger and bolder. Garrigan has picked Uganda at random. He is attractive and dashing: he's already flirting with the pretty blonde wife of the head of the rural medical clinic he's come to work in, when he's grabbed, with her, to "save" the paranoid Amin. The newly ascended President for Life has hurt his hand in an accident involving a farmer's cow. Garrigan impresses Amin by not just calmly fixing his sprained hand but also grabbing his presidential pistol and putting the cow out of its misery.

When Amin learns Nicholas is a Scot, he takes off his military shirt complete with medals and trades it on the spot for a "Scotland" T-shirt Nicolas is wearing -- for his son, Campbell. Amin has another son named Macgregor.

Almost immediately thereafter Amin persuades the young doctor to leave the clinic and become his personal physician in Kampala, the capital (where the movie was shot), sets him up with a Mercedes and a posh apartment in the presidential compound, and makes him a most trusted consultant, allowing him to decide on the design for a major building. Observing this exceptional access, a cynical British diplomat (Simon McBurney) approaches Nicholas and cautions him to "keep in touch," an offer the young man initially rebuffs.

Garrigan's seduced, as are we, initially, by Amin's charisma and charm, and only gradually does he become skeptical and eventually horrified as he realizes he's the intimate of a ferocious dictator who, estimates say, killed off 300,000 of his citizens, as well as expelling all the Asians from the country. What's interesting is how the daring young man as we see him can hardly help being thus seduced; how the two men seduce each other. But Nicholas is in a terribly weak position when things go wrong. Whitaker and McAvoy play off each other nicely as they act out this process.

Several dramatic events involving Garrigan in the two-hour film's latter segment strain credulity, including the way the young doctor's escape is intertwined with the Entebbe plane hijacking incident, and the kinds of trouble he gets into on the way to that escape.

What makes this film, whose plot line can scarcely compete with that of the more multi-leveled and thought-provoking The Constant Gardener, and which has a grainy newsreel look that's undistinguished, is Forest Whitaker's astonishing performance as Idi Amin Dada. Whitaker usually plays soft spoken, sensitive types. This time he nails a range from fearful to seductive to terrifying, connecting them with a seamlessly explosive energy. One would say Whitaker is this picture, except that it's unmistakably also young McAvoy's. Essential to the film is the way McAvoy, who's had mostly more minor and more purely physical roles before (he was the fawn in Narnia) plays off Whitaker beautifully and woos us too with his convincing enthusiasm and dash. This is a very watchable but also disturbing movie which one wishes might have maintained greater verisimilitude. When documentarians embroider the truth, sometimes they go off way too far. But this is not unusual: a great performance in a less-than-great movie. We have to take what we can get, and in The Last King of Scotland we get a very wild ride.

A good movie.

[igornveiga · 7/10 · 30 April 2019]

The film is based on facts, but only in part many things are other truths invented, nevertheless a film that tells the story of the real dictator of Uganda Idi Amin in a realistic way. Assistir will not waste time.

Astonishing film, that is carried by a great story and performances

[poojucu · 10/10 · 11 April 2007]

The last king of Scotland is scorcher of a film that follows the story of the horrid dictatorship that took over Uganda in the 1970s. The movie is seen completely through the eyes of young Nicolas Garrigan( James Mcavoy)a young Scottish doctor who decides he is tired of Scotland and ready to venture into another country to make a difference.

Soon after he begins his work in the town he begins a friendship with Idi Amin(Forest Whitaker)a powerful African leader who offers Garrigan a job as his personal doctor. Their developing relationship is wonderful to behold on screen, and for me was the main strength and the key point that made this movie go above and beyond.

Spoiler ahead:

Being a ill informed young adult I know close to nothing about African history, so therefore I had no idea what kind of leader Idi Amin was until the crashing scene when Garrigan figures out that he is actually a murderous dictator, who is destroying the African economy. This misfortune of mine made this particular moment in the film simply magic, and I found myself just trying to get my head around how such a loving and joyful character can actually be so violent.

End of Spoiler:

This is where I realized what a fantastic performance Forest Whitaker had actually given. He had fooled me into thinking he was someone else, he had made me think that he was actually a genuine democrat only concerned about the Ugandan people. His change in character is so superb at times too that I found myself thinking that is simply unfair. James Mcavoy although overshadowed by Forest Whitakers brilliant performance deserves credit too. His portrayal of the young Scottish doctor who is both naive and brave is fantastic, and it is great to watch the young Scotsman grow with every movie hes in.

Overall this is a simply astonishing film, telling an important story with some great performances. No criticism even worth mentioning for this movie that kept me on the edge of my seat til the very end.

Missed opportunities

[Chris_Docker · 6/10 · 13 January 2007]

It's Scotland 1970 and Nicholas is going semi- skinny-dipping in some chilly loch. With him are a bunch of other new medical graduates, Afterwards he goes home for a sherry with overly-traditional parents. Or at least until the opening credits. By then, desperate to get away, he spins the globe and ends up amid hot dusty colours and rich vibrant sounds in Uganda. (You will have to work very hard to divine any deep meaning to the title.) Nicholas is a blue-eyed boy with lots of testosterone. His hormones compete for attention with newly acquired medical skills. Out in the backwoods, he assists a lone doctor and tries to seduce the doctor's wife (played by Gillian Anderson). Yet a string of coincidences soon has Nicholas playing Personal Doctor to the new President, Idi Amin.

As Amin's regime gets under way, young Nick realises he's sold his soul as it were. He's surrounded by a life of luxury - one that is paid for with the blood of hundreds of thousands of Ugandans. Worse still, 'Daddy' Amin is in no mood to let him leave.

Expect strong performances, plenty of brutality, a tense ending, and a very nasty little scene in the airport duty free. Plus some convincingly mutilated bodies in the mortuary. A thriller 'inspired by true events', The Last King of Scotland is a competent if slightly raggedy film that sticks in the mind.

On the down side, it's shot on grainy 16mm blown up to 35mm. The overall visual effect often lacks definition to the point of fuzziness. The bigger shortfall is that it has nothing to say beyond its own basic story. It could be called yet another white-conscience-in-Africa film. We hear how the Brits helped Amin to power: it would have been an ideal opportunity to suggest that countries cannot easily be 'helped' towards a better form of government until they are ready (or have earned it themselves, and so learning to appreciate and maintain it).

The Last King of Scotland lacks the moral complexity it should have. It misses, for instance, any chance to say anything of importance about the wider world or its subject matter. Unlike Constant Gardener, Tsotsi or Shooting Dogs, it concentrates mostly on weak or corrupt characters, which can make for unsatisfying viewing. Even the moral dilemmas of the young doctor are undeveloped. We watch an action-driven plot where, unless we are totally ignorant of history, we know exactly what sort of atrocities Amin will eventually get up to. The horror has been diluted; the intellectual component edited out. For a thriller, it often leaves much to be desired and we might wonder if Director Kevin Macdonald is still too wedded to the documentary genre that his been his mainstay until now.

Idi Amin had a fixation for Scotland. He gave himself many grandiose titles including 'Last King of Scotland'. One painter depicted him as Scotland's Bonnie Prince Charlie, the 'Young Pretender', who led the fight against the English army but was defeated at Culloden. Such a comparison is odious and appears to hold no deeper meaning than was capable of the disordered mind of Amin (who saw a comparison between two countries 'seeking to free themselves from the yoke of English imperialism'). It does however flesh out the almost mythical figure of Idi Amin. The character of Nicholas would hold our interest more if we did not have to credit a university mind with such stupidity in personal relations. While The Last King of Scotland has many good features, including performances that raise it well above the average, it surely deserved more. Early on in the film, the warmth and spirit of rural Uganda shines through. That humanity might have made a more moving bookend than the cold fact of numbers killed that appears before the closing credits.

Why mess with history?

[antoniofalcao · 3/10 · 22 January 2007]

This film can be judged from three viewpoints: as history, as a profile of Amin, as a fictional thriller.

It fails as history, it mentions in passing the coup that threw out Obote, the expulsion of the Asians, and has the Entebbe hi-jack as background, but not in any chronologically consistent time frame.

As a profile of Amin it may have been interesting, because Forest Whitaker is incredibly good, and if this was a better film, he would get an Oscar. (He got it - which proves the Oscar voters don't watch the films they vote on.) It ignores relevant historical episodes in the novel, which observed Amin and the history of Uganda from the point of view of the doctor. It tells instead the fictitious story of the Scots doctor and his impossible love life from the point of view of Amin. But the story told is the one incident that Amin was probably innocent of.

As a fictional thriller, there is no plot to hold it together. The beginning is taut - it takes cinematic liberties with the novel, but sets up the story. The character of the doctor is well-defined, but becomes lost in the second half of the film which suffers as a result.

Why the doctor decides to stay in Kampala is badly explained - seduced by power? Why he befriends no-one is strange. The character of the friend in the novel has been lost because the Scotsman has the affair instead of the black doctor - a ludicrous entanglement which does not seem even faintly believable, but allows the writers of the film to show the ferocity of Amin close at hand. The Man called Horse bit at the end is risible.

Finally in 1971, Uganda drove on the left, not right, the number plates were three letters and two or three numbers - and where are the Equator tusks?!

In short - if you've never heard of Amin, you may want to spend two hours watching this film to appreciate Forest Whitaker's acting, but the last hour will bore you to confusion. If you know Uganda or have read the book - don't see the film - it will only depress you. And if you want to know why the doctor was so foolhardy - he wasn't.

The use of Garrigan is a strength and weakness but it is a good film thanks mainly to a terrific turn from Whitaker

[bob the moo · 17 February 2007]

The newly qualified Dr Nicholas Garrigan travels to Uganda to take up a post with a village mission. He arrives just after a coup puts Idi Amin in power of the country. During a visit by Amim to the village, Garrigan captures the President's attention by tending to a small injury to his hand and showing himself decisive and strong-willed. It is not long before the young Garrigan finds himself appointed as physician to the President and ensconced as one of his "closest advisors". However the initial charm shown by Amin gives way to a darker violent streak as Garrigan finds the superficial stability of the country and its leader is nothing of the sort.

Famous now for the performance that will deservedly win an Oscar in a few weeks time, this film actually doesn't have Amin as the "main" character despite him being the draw and the title character. Instead we actually spend a lot of time with Garrigan, his experiences and his problems. Of course I understand why this was the way because Garrigan is out narrative device – a composite character who acts as our way into the inner circle of Amin and allows the audience to experience him as outsiders as well. This works well in doing this but it does also introduce problems, or at least one problem. This is the fact that, as the story goes on, we find ourselves more and more focused on Garrigan (who doesn't actually exist) rather than Amin or Uganda (who did and does exist respectively). I found this a bit irritating as it got worse because I had come to the film for Amin – as, I suspect, many will have done.

Even with this though the film still works well and makes for an engaging piece. Macdonald's direction is good and his moving camera does give it the air of a documentary while still very much being a drama. Of course the thing that makes the film work is the central performance from Whitaker. The character of Amin allows him to play to his strengths and he delivers a convincingly unhinged turn, constantly menacing but also managing to have a child-like sense of fun at times and a terrifying tendency towards ruthlessness and violence. I have said before, he was brilliant in The Shield (making the whole season his own) and he is equally brilliant here. Alongside this it is no surprise that McAvoy is a bit weak by comparison. His character is not so convincing (a side effect of being a composite) and some of the narrative turns ask a lot of him – he is still good and it is not his fault that he is in Whitaker's shadow. Washington has a small role but was pretty good in it even if her presence made me wonder why they felt they had to cast an American actress, likewise Anderson but I assume that they helped get funding so fair enough. McBurney is a bit too slimy and sinister and I wasn't sure what the film was trying to say. Audiences may also recognise Oyelowo from his recent high-profile roles in HBO's Five Days and BBC's controversial Shoot The Messenger.

Overall then not a perfect film but a pretty good one. The use of Garrigan is good at getting us into the story but it is a weakness that we stick with him as the focus. The performances are roundly good but of course it is another terrific turn from Whitaker that makes every scene he is in worth seeing.

A fascinating blending of fiction with history

[ikanboy · 8/10 · 3 February 2007]

A young Scottish Doctor flees his repressive home to go to Uganda. Now that's an oxymoron if ever I've heard one! Once there he joins a mission and ministers to the locals. He tries to fit in to the Christian role but temptation has thrown him a curve. The missionary's wife is a blond tressed, and quite sumptuous Gillian Anderson - with a bang on British accent and demeanor. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for my fantasy life, she hesitatingly demurs. At this point Idi Amin happens to be in the neighborhood and takes a fancy to our young Doctor (completely ignoring Gillian, which tells us right off the bat that the man's not normal), for having the chutzpah to brazenly use Amin's pistol to kill a cow, mortally wounded by Amin's limousine.

Our young naive, hedonist decides to take up Amin's offer to be his personal Doctor, and soon finds himself up to his elbows in African Alligators, namely your usual Dictatorial musical chairs.

The character of the young Scot is pure fiction, but in the Uganda of that day, a quite likely one. He slowly realizes that his boss is a sociopath, but he is also a prisoner, knowing that to displease him is a tad risky. Still he is a headstrong youth, and continues to confront Amin when he sees fit to. Then he steps over the edge and does something totally suicidal: he sleeps with one of Amin's wives.

The movie ends with the Entebbe hijacking of an Air France Plane full of Jews coming from Israel. Our hero uses the moment to escape - Uganda and certain death.

Whittaker is great. Playing sociopaths is every actors dream, as you get to be so mercurially evil, and he milks it for all it's worth. But he's never over the top, or campy, or unbelievable. He plays Amin as the jolly genocidal maniac that he was, and, thank God, keeps away from more than a nod at his being a Muslim. Whittaker will win the Oscar. I also predict that if they ever have a movie about Saddam Hussein, that actor will also win an Oscar

Whitaker Is Amin

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 3 May 2019]

The most frightening character in history is the man who smiles. A person who can slaughter thousands and torture even more, and be a joker, is appalling. Forest Whitaker presents Idi Amin, the horror of Uganda. He comes off as a charming, outgoing source of venom. Obviously, there are liberties taken that are there with any historical drama, but the recency of his reign give us more immediacy. It also can make it more likely to be attacked. There is no question about Amin, however.

A Fictional Story Offers A Glimpse Of Reality

[sddavis63 · 7/10 · 1 October 2007]

I've been intrigued by "The Last King Of Scotland" for some time and have finally had the opportunity to view it. The movie is an adaptation of a novel offering the fictionalized story of a young Scottish doctor (James McAvoy) who becomes personal physician to Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, and we see the descent of that country into a brutal nightmare through his eyes. The movie is for the most part well done, and I wanted to mention a couple of highlights for me.

First is the performance of Forrest Whittaker playing Amin. I have to confess that I've never been totally captured by Whittaker as an actor for whatever reason, but in this, he nailed the part. I've often thought of Amin as having been a simple, brutal thug-like creature, and yet Whittaker is able to capture the complexities of the man quite well. Sometimes a childish prankster, often a brutal sadist, always the showman, and increasingly paranoid as time goes on - Whittaker captured all of that. It was a very impressive performance in what must have been a difficult role. The other thing I truly appreciated was the way the reality of Amin's reign was believably woven into the fictional storyline, as the country moves from rejoicing over his seizure of power to terror at his hands. There are a couple of scenes where the violence of the regime is portrayed quite graphically, but for the most part it's the sense of terror that really fills the movie and moves it along and makes it work.

The weakest part of the movie was the fictional storyline that weaves everything together. Dr. Nicholas Garrigan ends up as Amin's personal physician in what I thought was an implausible manner - even given the unpredictability of Amin's nature. That very implausibility made it difficult to take this movie too seriously, even given the strong points I mention above. That doesn't make this a bad movie - it's a very good movie, but it does take away a little bit from it. Having said that, the best line of the movie - and what probably sums Amin up as well as anyone could - belongs to Garrigan. Beaten, and about to be brutally tortured, Garrigan looks at Amin and says "you're a child, and that's what makes you so f***ing scary!" Overall, I'd rate this as a 7/10.

Forest Whitaker was born on July 15th, 1961

[PCC0921 · 8/10 · 25 June 2022]

It is important to learn and understand history. This is evident, not only, with good history, but with bad history as well. Even though you really shouldn't rely on a movie for historical accuracy, at least a film reminds you about that moment, hopefully prompting you to look into it more. This is the story about the Ugandan President, Idi Amin, who rose to power in the 1970s. Idi Amin, became President of Uganda on January 25th, 1971. He is played brilliantly by Forest Whitaker. James McAvoy is cast a fictional character that becomes Amin's private physician. This film is based on a 1998 novel, by the same name, written by Giles Foden. McAvoy's character was based on real associates of Amin, but was fictionalized to further the impact of this story as a biopic film. Foden used information from different associates, research and a combination of fiction and true history. This is a normal story-telling device in film, that is seen in many film biopics.

McAvoy (Dr. Nicholas Garrigan), is a ladies man, who just graduated from medical school and for some odd reason he picks Uganda as the place where he wants to start his practice. One day, he is summoned to help Amin after a car accident. Amin immediately takes a liking to Nicholas and asks him to be his private physician and advisor. What Nicholas doesn't foresee is a future where Amin goes nuts. If you look back in history, Amin, amid all the media and chaos, was depicted as a madman. Forest Whitaker explores this scenario quite well. He shows you a lighter side of Amin, but also has the great acting skills to show you Amin's dark paranoid side. Once the film really takes off, you begin to understand how weird Amin really was. It reminds you, that it was a good thing his reign came to an end.

I also want to bring in a comparison. If you have seen Seth Rogan and James Franco's, The Interview (2014), before you have seen Last King of Scotland (2006), or vice-verse, enjoy this comparison, because it only enhances the excellent work, that McAvoy and Whitaker did in this film. In The Interview (2014), James Franco's character becomes best-buddies with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. Of course, all of this is fictional, as well as, a comedy. It has the ridiculous scenario of these two guys being good buddies, either through ignorance or craziness. Well, as you watch Franco and Randall Park (President Kim), interact in their film, think of McAvoy and Whitaker in this film, a serious film, but the results are almost, dead-on, the same. It further enhances the craziness and paranoia of Amin's character and shows, either through ignorance, stupidity or just bad luck that Dr. Nicholas got involved with this nut in the first place. None of this is more evident than at the very end, during the end credits, when director Kevin Macdonald, decides to flash up real footage of Idi Amin. He shows us the real Idi Amin's eyes and face, which solidifies the truth about how really nuts this guy was. It's all in the eyes. You need to see this film.

8.1 (B MyGrade) = 8 IMDB.

Oscar time for Whitaker, despite the overkill

[jgrosspjc · 7/10 · 12 February 2007]

As the youngest of baby boomers are drawn to the novelty of the 1970s as history, we sometimes remember Idi Amin with more humor than horror as the big, black, and flamboyant cannibal king. The Last King of Scotland will change that. And as Westerners have yet to endure the rule and wrath of a cult of personality, we are challenged to find anything redeeming in Stalin, Castro, or Amin let alone charisma. For this reason alone,Forest Whitaker deserves the Oscar for best actor. We knew the "king" was a murderous dictator, but in certain moments, we can't help but like him (especially when excitedly declaring victory after blatantly cheating in a swim race). Glasgow's own James McAvoy, is narrowly more likable as the protagonist Dr.Garrigan whose naivety is defendable if not his Scottish bravado, libido, or botched heroics. The soundtrack's intensity during an African bacchanal, or Garrigan's unsuccessful dash after Sarah (Gillian Anderson) in the back seat of the rolling-away-bus (as seen in hundreds of films) was beyond gratuitous. Given his tendency to commit overkill, we should congratulate director Kevin MacDonald for at least leaving the Entebbe raid and aftermath on the cutting room floor. This was the right place to end the film, using the Israeli commando-rescue operation,as a historical 'restore point' with which most of the target audience will be familiar. Certain scenes are memorably enhanced by changing film stocks including a bewitching sketch where the"Field Marshal" spontaneously joins the tribal dancers commemorating his appearance at a regional rally. With unlikely subtlety, these scenes match the epilogue, a collage of historical footage of the real Amin and somber posting of his handiwork (300,000 Ugandan civilians murdered). The Last King of Scotland should be important to Western viewers as our ignorance of matters African, is no longer viable.

The Doctor and the Dictator

[JamesHitchcock · 8/10 · 24 January 2007]

The twentieth century deserves to be remembered by future historians as the Age of the Dictator, but despite the prominent role that dictators played in history, they have not been much in evidence in the cinema. There have been many films about dictatorships, but these have not always focused on the men who led those regimes. Pol Pot, for example, does not appear in "The Killing Fields", nor Galtieri in "La Historia Oficial". Even Adolf Hitler is only a partial exception. Although he has been memorably impersonated on screen by a number of actors from Charlie Chaplin to Bruno Ganz, films about him are less common than one might expect, given that he is the man who has replaced the Devil as our supreme symbol of evil. George C Scott gave a fine impersonation of Mussolini, but this was in a TV series, not a film.

The cinema's lack of interest in dictators is not entirely due to morality- Hollywood has always been happy to make films about fictional villains, or even real-life ones who did not also hold the position of Head of State. A large part of the reason is that many dictators exemplified what Hannah Arendt called "the banality of evil". The cold, reserved General Franco bore little resemblance to the idea of the dictator as carpet-chewing maniac. Augusto Pinochet was once described as having the appearance and demeanour of a suburban bank manager. Leonid Brezhnev ruled the world's largest country for nearly two decades ( a period later described as "The Age of Stagnation") but was rarely seen, either in Russia or the West, as anything more than a soulless bureaucrat.

There was, however, nothing banal about Idi Amin, who fascinated the Western media during his time in power. He was noted for his eccentricities, such as awarding himself the Victoria Cross, and the media treated him as a licensed buffoon, which obscured the horrendous nature of his crimes. It has been estimated that during his time in power some 300,000 people were murdered (one hundred times the death toll attributed to his contemporary Pinochet, who at the time was far more widely reviled).

The protagonist of this film (I advisedly do not use the word hero) is Nicholas Garrigan, a young Scottish doctor who, inspired more by desire for adventure than by idealism, takes a position working in a medical mission in Uganda. (The alternative, working as a family GP in his father's practice, does not appeal to him). A chance meeting with Amin leads to his being offered the post of personal physician to the President. The main reason for Amin's choice seems to be that Garrigan is a Scot; the dictator had a fascination for all things Scottish, including wearing a kilt and (despite his Muslim religion) drinking whisky. The title of the film derives from the fact that he even offered his services as King Idi I of Scotland, an offer which the Scots, for some reason, declined.

A strange friendship grows up between the doctor and the dictator, and Garrigan soon finds that he is being treated as Amin's confidant and adviser as well as physician. As portrayed by James McAvoy, Garrigan is in many ways an unattractive character- flattered at being singled out for attention by a powerful man, blinded by a credulous belief in Amin's good intentions and eager for the luxurious lifestyle which his position bestows upon him, he turns a blind eye to the mounting evidence of the atrocities being committed by the regime. His only excuse is that he is young and naive. He is also a casual philanderer; in the course of the film he seduces a Ugandan girl he meets on a bus, Sarah, the neglected wife of the mission director and (incredibly) Kay, one of Amin's three wives. To cuckold one's employer is never a good career move; to do it to a man as unpredictable as Amin is a positively bad one, as Nicholas soon finds out.

Apart from McAvoy, there are also good performances from Gillian Anderson as Sarah, David Oyewolo as the brave and principled Ugandan doctor Junju (the one man in the film who can be described as a hero) and from Simon McBurney as the callous and hypocritical British diplomat Nigel Stone. (There is an implication- which may be justified- that the British Government initially supported Amin's seizure of power, seeing him as more pro-Western than his predecessor Milton Obote, and then turned against him, not because he was a tyrant but because he proved to be less malleable than they had hoped).

The film, however, is dominated by Forest Whitaker, who well deserves his Oscar nomination. I have been an admirer of his ever since "The Crying Game" (a film I did not otherwise much care for), and here he is superb as Amin. Whitaker avoids the mistake of trying to make his character purely evil. Amin initially enjoyed considerable support from Ugandans sickened by the corrupt regime of Obote, the sort of Socialist who believed in the redistribution of wealth, chiefly into his own bank account. The dictator we see in the early scenes is a great bear of a man, shrewd, jovial and with a good deal of personal charm and a well-developed, if occasionally childish, sense of humour. Whitaker's interpretation leaves open the possibility that Amin was a sincere man corrupted by the temptations of power and that Garrigan's naive trust was not altogether misplaced. It is precisely because Whitaker's Amin initially appears so affable that the raging, half-mad figure we see at the end of the film is so frightening. An unpredictable man can be more dangerous than one who is predictably wicked. The film works well as a study of the politics of dictatorship and of the relationship between two very different men. 8/10

"It's a funny thing being taken under the wings of a dragon – it's warmer than you think."

[Flagrant-Baronessa · 7/10 · 11 February 2007]

The above quote is not from "The Last King of Scotland", but from "Gangs of New York" as said by Leonardo DiCaprio – but it might as well be, for doctor Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) experiences the same deceitful tour into the African elite. It starts with mafia-like showering of gifts and status under the great dictator and ends in political world of kidnapping, mass-murder and torture. "The Last King of Scotland" is a nuanced, well-told portrait of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin from the naive perspective of his personal physician.

James McAvoy captures the idealist nature of his newly-examined physician with apt conviction. Back in dreary Scotland he spins the globe and lands his finger first on Canada, says "Eh" and decides to spin it again, this time ending up in Uganda. Cut to Nicholas riding on a loud bus in Africa and meeting the joyous, colourful Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker). As the film progresses, he has trapped himself in a self-spun cocoon of complex love stories, political questions and lavish gifts and suffers moral qualms accordingly.

Although in screen time and narrative the film centres on our doctor, the film is not about Nicholas Garrigan. Indeed, the BAFTAs deemed James McAvoy 'supporting', and Forest Whitaker 'leading' as have most awarding bodies. Whitaker's inventive, bold and off-colour performance is primed to pick up awards and almost certainly also the big one with the Academy. As Idi Amin, he is an entertainer, dictator, mass-murderer, torturer, husband, father and bully all rolled into one and all operating seamlessly within the same large, intimidating man. The result is unspeakably captivating and the walleyed Whitaker brings unusual baggage to the complex character, creating a fully-fledged artist.

"The Last King of Scotland" is shot on location with beautifully picturesque pastel-tinted African dance parties in one end and starving children and torture chambers in the others, inspired by true events and wholly grounded in reality, especially by including montages of live action footage and news paper articles on Amin's gruesome practices. Yet the film does not feel entirely realistic. The main problem is the hackneyed extra-template love-story between Nicholas and someone close to Idi Amin and predictably, it has severe implications. This feels quite redundant in the otherwise compelling film. All in all, however, Kevin Macdonald's "The Last King of Scotland" is a fine 2006 addition.

7.5 out of 10

Powerful, epic, personal and affecting

[MarshallStax · 8/10 · 24 September 2006]

It may seem like an unusual name for a movie about the events surrounding the 1970's rise to power of Ugandan military dictator Idi Amin, but to see is to understand.

The plot, based on a novel that in turn was inspired by actual events, follows a freshly-minted young Scottish doctor named Nicholas Garrigan. In just a few quick scenes, director Kevin Macdonald clearly shows us that this drinking, pot smoking free spirit is terrified by his suffocating future of being a family practitioner in business with his overbearing old man.

Not nearly as sure of what he wants as what he doesn't want, Nick spins a globe and winds up in Uganda just as a coup has taken place. The director again lets us know quickly what this young Scot's about; Nick has a hard time keeping his hands off the ladies, as he jumps right into the sack with a flirtatious fellow bus traveler before he arrives at the village where he is to assist the resident doctor.

A nicely slimmed down and understated Gillian Anderson, sporting a decent British accent, portrays the doctor's beautiful and under-appreciated wife. She picks up Nick from the bus stop and ferries him to his post through an eerie night road scape full of ghostly Ugandans wandering in the truck's headlights.

Nick enjoys some aspects of his new gig: playing soccer with the kids, vaccinating little ones against the diseases that ravage the land, and yes, eyeing the doctor's wife.

His seduction attempt nearly succeeds; Anderson smartly portrays a good woman whose need to be bad is only slightly weaker than her desire to be noble. Still in turmoil, they attend a rally nearby where Idi Amin is addressing his new constituents. Charismatic and rabble-rousing, Forest Whitaker convincingly portrays the first of many facets of Amin that will be revealed throughout the course of this film.

It would be a disservice to the viewer who has not yet seen this thick, affecting film to describe the plot in any more detail, but suffice it to say that a fortuitous encounter with the dictator soon leads to Nick away from his boredom, good works and untasted forbidden fruit of the countryside village to the inner circle of the charming, terrifying and possibly insane bully Amin.

The aimlessness of Nick's life begins to come clear for him as he gets deeper and deeper into the moral quagmire of being chief adviser and personal physician to the man who was ultimately responsible for the 300,000 deaths of those who opposed him within Uganda.

The ending, after a build-up nearly as hallucinatory and overwhelming as "Apocalypse Now", comes down during the Entebbe hijacking and hostage crisis of 1976.

Nick's journey is told without a misstep and an epic, significant air hangs over this grainy, you-are-there photography. And the impact of casual violence and its affect on the value of human life has rarely been portrayed with more vividness than in this film. Nothing done by a Freddy or a Jason can match the atrocities visited upon those on the wrong side of Amin's politics, paranoia or temper.

For the squeamish, this is a harrowing ride.

The soundtrack throbs with African popular music of the time (think Fela Kuti, with less improv and more melody) and the sense of time and place is utterly convincing.

As well made as this film is, it is still the cake that the icing of the actors decorates. Forest Whitaker gives what is without a doubt the performance of his career in Idi Amin. And Oscar nomination, if not an outright win, is a certainty if there is any justice in this world. And James McAvoy's callow Nicholas grows in heft and morality before our eyes. At first, he enjoys the opulence and easy living of being among Amin's inner circle, but, as he continues to dally with the wrong ladies and mock the covert operatives from England that approach him, an actual person with inner strength appears. And though his answer to all this is to run away, the impediments placed in his path teach him a thing or two about being a human being. MacAvoy deserves plentiful praise for bringing this pleasure-seeking young doctor to life, then shepherding him through these changes believably before our eyes.

Very well played dramatization of Idi Amin's eight-year reign of terror in Uganda

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 2 July 2015]

Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's (Forest Whitaker) regime as seen by his personal physician called Garrigan (James McAvoy) during the 1970s , which resulted in the deaths of a half million people . At the beginning Idi Amin seems to be a good President who promises a golden age for the African nation , Uganda . Idi Amin was a charming , magnetic and murderous dictator . Amin's rule was characterized by human rights abuses, political repression, ethnic persecution, extra-judicial killings, nepotism, corruption, and gross economic mismanagement . Along the way , Garrigan to be aware increasingly his erratic behavior that grows beyond a legitimate fear of assassination into a murderous insanity . Unwilling to let him return Scotland , Garrigan decides to take some options that could mean his death . Later on , there takes place a plane hijack by Palestines . The local government supported the hijackers and dictator Idi Amin personally welcomed them . In the aftermath of the operation codename ¨Operation Thunderbolt¨ , Idi Amin issued orders to retaliate and slaughter several hundred Kenyans present in Uganda .

A compelling drama all the more gripping because being true , though the character well played by James McAvoy , is fictitious. It is packed with thrills , intense drama , tension , violence , strong loving scenes and nice interpretations . At one point, Idi Amin can be seen wearing a Glengarry , which is a Scottish military cap, with a red and white tartan ribbon around it . Amin had been in the King's African Rifles, and suffered considerable racism from British officers . The only one to show him any respect was a Scotsman, and thenceforth had an inreciprocated affection for Scotland, even considering himself a pretender to the Scottish throne . All star cast gives fine acting as well as support cast . Masterfully played by Forest Tucker as the lunatic leader who is driving Uganda into bloody ruin , he achieved a well deserved Academy Award . James McAvoy as likable doctor who must make some crucial decisions is splendid , he gives a vigorous as well as sympathetic performance . Secondary actors give excellent acting such as Kerry Washington , David Oyelowo , Simon McBurney and special mention for Gillian Anderson . The motion picture was stunningly directed by Kevin Macdonald .

Adding more details about Idi Amin life , these are the followings : Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles, in 1946, serving in Kenya and Uganda . Eventually, Amin held the rank of major general in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its commander before seizing power in the military coup of January 1971, deposing Milton Obote. He later promoted himself to field marshal while he was the head of state. The number of people killed as a result of his regime is estimated by international observers and human rights groups to range from 100,000 to 500,000 . During his years in power, Amin shifted in allegiance from being a pro-Western ruler enjoying considerable Israeli support to being backed by Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, Zaire's Mobutu Sese Seko, the Soviet Union, and East Germany. In 1975, Amin became the chairman of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), a Pan-Africanist group designed to promote solidarity of the African states. During the 1977–1979 period, Uganda was a member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.In 1977, when Britain broke diplomatic relations with Uganda , Amin declared he had defeated the British and added "CBE", for "Conqueror of the British Empire", to his title . On 27 June, an Air France plane with 248 passengers was hijacked, by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the German Revolutionary Cells, and flown to Entebbe, the main airport of Uganda. Operation Entebbe was a mission carried out by commandos of the Israel Defense Forces at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976 . Dissent within Uganda and Amin's attempt to annex the Kagera province of Tanzania in 1978, led to the Uganda–Tanzania War and the demise of his eight-year regime, leading Amin to flee into exile to Libya and Saudi Arabia, where he lived until his death on 16 August 2003 .

Other films about this polemic figure are the followings : ¨The John Akii Bua Story: An African Tragedy¨ (2008) played by John Bosco , ¨Amin : rise and fall¨ (1982) by Shrad Patel with Joseph Olita , "Operation Thunderbolt" (1977) played by Mark Heath , ¨Raid on Entebbe¨ (1976) this version Yaphet Kotto plays Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. In the other production, "Victory at Entebbe (1976)," Julius Harris plays Idi Amin

Another example of Hollywood's unwillingness to give us actual truth! Instead, they sensationalize for effect!

[Rvrgm · 2/10 · 10 August 2007]

Before I begin, I want to briefly say that this movie in and of itself is very well made and well acted by all involved, including Whittaker, who indeed deserves his nomination. It is highly entertaining, and . . . taken in the right context as a work of FICTION, it is a very good movie. For that, I give it the two stars.

However, rather than wasting your time with what you can read a hundred times elsewhere, I want instead to point out the absolute fictional nature of this film and how dangerous it is to sell people a work of fiction as if it is truth. I stress that this film nowhere in the credits lets us know that the main character, Dr. Nicholas Garrigan, is a complete invention of fiction. Rather, it presents this character into a real historical setting, and allows the uninformed viewer to assume he was in fact real, and what they are seeing is the truth. I have no problem with the blending of fact and fiction - but to do so in such a dishonest matter is, in a word, reprehensible.

There can be no doubt that Africa, along with most Third World Countries is rife with human misery and suffering. Hollywood has long attempted to capture the suffering of people in these countries on film. But Hollywood also has its eye toward making money. The only true way to capture the suffering that seems to happen everywhere but the West is to either experience it for yourself, or to at least have it captured in an honest documentary.

But these depictions of fictional characters in real historical settings can only do so much. At the end of the day, they become less about presenting the facts for the viewer to decide for himself, and more about leading you from image to image and hitting you over the head screaming, "SEE, WE TOLD YOU IT WAS BAD!" The seminal example of this can be found by anyone willing to watch the documentary on the DVD after sitting through the movie. Arguably the most shocking image of the film is the viewing of the body of Kay Amin, Idi's second wife, whom he killed when he discovered her infidelity. In the film, we see that her limbs have been severed and reattached in reverse (arms for legs and vice-versa). This is the director making sure you understand that Amin is, as the Gungans say, Bom-bad! But watching the documentary, we learn that this is in fact nothing more than a myth, which the sitting Minister of Health at the time himself tells us is not true.

So . . . what . . . they just MAKE UP these things? Why? Because Hollywood has a low opinion of our intelligence, that's why! They don't trust us to come to the right conclusion ourselves. Look, that she was murdered and dismembered is in itself enough for us to conclude that Amin was not the likable guy he portrayed to the media - we don't need this Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE inspired imagery to reinforce that! And this is just the tip of the iceberg. What is also not explained to the casual viewer is that lead character Garrigan is himself fictional. There was no young Scottish doctor taken under Amin's wing. As such, Garrigan is clearly present only for the sake of helping us dumb Westerners understand the African world. The producers seem to thing we won't be interested in a film about Africa unless there is a white face in it. (Ironically, even the titular character is portrayed by an American black actor!) The problem with this is that the movie is no longer an expose of Amin and his regime, but instead an exploitative thriller about a white Westerner coming to Africa for all the wrong reasons, making several horrible mistakes, and then "redeeming" himself, even at the cost of three other innocent lives. Honestly, I have to say it is nearly reprehensible to suggest that the real tragic death of Mrs. Amin was the result of a tryst with a fictional Scottish doctor - it almost seems to become a morbid joke for the sake of entertainment! I really wish Hollywood would stop jerking us around for our money. I first realized its propensity to do this with the woefully manipulative A BEAUTIFUL MIND, Ron Howard and Akiva Goldsman's sugary-sweet adaptation of the life of John Nash, which deleted the darker side of the man to present only the tortured hero that America just can't get enough of. The sad truth is that Hollywood has been selling us these fakes for years, and viewers, who are predictably and understandably too lazy or uncaring to investigate for themselves, buy these fake portraits hook, line, and sinker.

Look, I'm certainly not suggesting Amin is being turned into a villain he wasn't. My point is, with the truth being so shocking enough to convince us of the brutality of the man, why must Hollywood then go to such fictional lengths? Why must Hollywood continue to insult us by holding our hands through these films? Why can they not trust us to think for ourselves!? Can we not just put the honest portrayals on screen and let the audience decide for themselves? I urge all who continue to watch Hollywood's purportedly "true" movies to do yourself the favor of ALWAYS investigating for yourself, and to NEVER assume that what is on screen is even close to the truth!