Murderous dictator comes alive -- The Last King of Scotland
A riveting thriller: The Last King Of Scotland
Genre: Drama
Cast: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson
Director: Kevin MacDonald
Storyline: How the personal physician gets to know the real Idi Amin.
Bottomline: Forest Whitaker eats your soul, gets your vote.
If you don’t feel too bad for Will Smith losing out on the Best Actor at the Academy Awards, it’s only because Forest Whitaker creates a frighteningly powerful persona as he brings to life one of the darkest dictators in history.
If movie buffs had to vote for the best villain in recent times, this portrayal of the ‘Cannibal’ President Idi Amin will only lose to Hannibal Lecter and, maybe, Kaiser Soze. Knowing pretty well that a role like this comes only once in a lifetime, Forest Whitaker gives it everything he has.
And that is not the only reason you must watch ‘The Last King of Scotland.’ There are many more.
Director Kevin MacDonald crafts an edge-of-the-seat riveting thriller from a fictional account of a biopic that begins slowly and smoothly, introducing us to Uganda through the eyes of a young Scottish doctor,
Life changes
Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), whose casual, carefree life changes forever when he befriends the President.
The film is essentially about the bond between Amin and Nicholas as the makers put us into the shoes of the physician quite early in the film. ou get to know the President, through the eyes of Nicholas. Like the doctor, you mistake the quirkiness for eccentricity, and underestimate the childish arrogance. So when Nicholas tells the President “You’re just a child. And that’s what makes you so scary,” he’s actually speaking out your observation of the man. Which is why this is such an effective film born of out a brilliant script (Jeremy Brock wrote the screenplay based on Giles Foden’s novel.)
Whitaker’s greatest histrionic achievement lies in his seamless transformation from a charismatic leader to a murderous monarch.
Looming presence
Whitaker’s presence looms so large that poor McAvoy, who probably clocks more screen-time, is reduced to a support act. It has to be said here that McAvoy manages to pull off one of the most complex and under-rated roles in recent times, as the epitome of vulnerability, a man faced with a moral dilemma of what he values more – loyalty towards his friend or the country and the people he has come to serve.As the tension builds between the two main characters, the director sets the stage for a dark, gripping finale.
The support cast is terrific, the score rocking with African rhythms and the cinematography, vividly haunting. Surrender to ‘The Last King of Scotland.’ He rules.
R. SUDHISH KAMATH
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