The Last King of Scotland

The Last King of Scotland: Forest Whitaker gives a stellar performance as Idi Amin, a brutal Ugandan dictator that reigned in the 1970’s. The story actually centers around another character, Nicholas Garrigan (played by James McAvoy). Garrigan is a recent medical school graduate from Scotland. He chooses to go to Uganda for two reason, for one – he wants to make a difference in the world and secondly he wants to get away from his egocentric father who is also a doctor. While working at a mission in Uganda, Garrigan treats Amin after a mild car accident. Amin is intrigued by Garrigan who is from Scotland, a country he greatly admires. Soon after, he invites Garrigan to come work at his hospital in Kampala and to also serve as his personal doctor. The naïve Garrigan accepts. The plot thickens as Garrigan becomes Amin's most trusted adviser as he slowly gets deeper and more involved in the inner workings of Amin's regime. The film is one very “tense” ride which can be credited to Whitaker 's stellar portrayal of Amin. He creates such a mad man on screen, a loose cannon if you will. I sat in my chair, palms sweating, literally afraid of him. On top of that, the story is engrossing from start to finish. By the time the credits rolled I felt exhausted. Bravo to Forest Whitaker and to all involved in this film! Check this one out.
* * * and ½ or Grade: B+

If this movie had parents they would be: Hotel Rwanda & Match Point

With a running time of 121 minutes
This film is rated R