The Last King of Scotland (2006)reviewed by Benn "Where's the Humanity?" Farrell
In 1970, Nicholas Garrigan, played by Tom McAvoy (Chronicles of Narnia: LWW), heads to Uganda to work as a mission doctor; however, after a run in with the newly empowered President Idi Amin, played by Forest Whitaker (Species), he is offered a job as Amin’s personal and family physician and advisor. As the two build a friendship, Garrigan notices Amin opposers begin to disappear, including members of his own cabinet. Eventually, the young doctor gets a first hand look at the brutality and genocide Amin ordered, totaling 300,000 of his political and social opposition until 1979 when his regime was finally forced out. The film adopts a magnificent perspective, from the doctor’s point of view, which shows how charismatic Amin was and later how unstable. We, the viewer, are shielded from Amin’s brutality, as was the doctor, until British state personnel shows Garrigan, and us, pictures of Amin’s ‘work’ outside of the capital city. When Garrigan feels endangered, we feel endangered. This is where the movie gets its grip on the audience. Whitaker deserves any and all accolades he receives for this performance. He did a great job of showing Amin’s both dark and light-hearted sides. It was a perfect portrayal. It was very charming and very scary. The final act was nerve wracking as Garrigan’s subplot began to crumble on top of him. It was extremely well paced. A word of warning, there is an extremely brutal torture scene in Act 3; very tough to watch, but in hindsight, I believe it was necessary. Overall, the picture was a great ride and feels historically legitimate. It was a true accomplishment in modern cinema from Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker Kevin Macdonald (One Day in September). Benn - Where's the Humanity?
This picture is very intense and somehow protects you from the brutality of Idi Amin’s regime until the third act.