Susan Granger’s review of “The Last King of Scotland” (Fox Searchlight)
Despite the incongruous title, this is a gripping drama about Uganda’s iconic president Idi Amin, featuring an extraordinary, Oscar-worthy performance by Forest Whitaker.
The story begins in Scotland as an idealistic young physician, Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), graduates from med school. Eager to “make a difference” and have some fun, he impetuously takes a remote post in Uganda, where he attempts a liaison with the wife (Gillian Anderson) of the village’s hard-working British physician (Adam Kotz). While attending a rally for Idi Amin, the fledgling democracy’s newly elected president, Nicholas is summoned to bandage the General’s injured hand. Having served in the King’s African Rifles, Amin has a soft spot for Scotland, and, later, a hilarious scene shows Amin wearing a kilt, surrounded by Africans singing a Scottish song.
Impressed by Nicholas’ outspoken honesty, Amin makes him a seductive offer he can’t refuse: becoming his personal physician in Kampala, where Nicholas discovers that one of Amin’s wives (Kerry Washington) has an epileptic son whom he keeps hidden.
Enjoying unparalleled access to the highest realms of the government, Nicholas becomes aware that Amin is a murderous megalomaniac and that his own life is in peril.
In an absolutely terrifying characterization, Forest Whitaker captures Amin’s charisma as well as his charm, while the selfish na•vetŽ of James McAvoy (Mr. Tumnus in “The Chronicles of Narnia”) evokes compassion. Based on Giles Foden’s novel, insightfully adapted by Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock and meticulously directed by Kevin Mcdonald (“Touching the Void, “One Day in September”), it interweaves historical fact with fiction. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Last King of Scotland” is an eye-riveting 8, an edgy tale that doesn’t let go – despite horrifying images of violence and brutality.
