2006 Directed by Kevin Macdonald
Young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan decides it's time for an adventure after he finishes his formal education, so he decides to try his luck in Uganda, and arrives during the downfall of President Obote. General Idi Amin comes to power and asks Garrigan to become his personal doctor.
Fox Searchlight Pictures Cowboy Films DNA Films Scottish Screen UK Film Council Film4 Productions Slate Films Tatfilm
O Último Rei da Escócia, Le dernier roi d'Écosse, ラストキング・オブ・スコットランド, El ultimo rey de Escocia, 最後的蘇格蘭王, 라스트 킹, Der letzte König von Schottland - In den Fängen der Macht
Politics and human rights Epic history and literature War and historical adventure political, president, historical, politician or democracy historical, royalty, sumptuous, lavish or drama political, democracy, documentary, president or propaganda nazi, war, wwii, hitler or jewish racism, african american, powerful, hatred or slavery Show All…
"Did you think this was all a game? 'I will go to Africa and I will play the white man with the natives.' Is that what you thought? We are not a game, Nicholas. We are real." -Idi Amin,
Fantastic.
Forest Whitaker gives one of the best performances in the history of acting and I am not speaking in hyperbole, I literally think it's one of the best performances I have ever seen in a movie. He manages to make me scared of him... that's right I was scared of a character on a screen in a historical fiction because he's that terrifying. That said, it's not an unhinged performance. Part of what makes it so good is the controlled…
There is something about biographical films, which always highlights an actor's (or actresses') skills, but considers everything else not as important.
It seems the most important part of the actor in a biographical film, is to get every thing right about the character he is playing.
His posture, his accent, his manner of speech and his look.
So much effort goes into building the character, that the film usually falls behind and does not live up to the actor's skill.
Of course there are exceptions, but biographical films usually suffer from this fate.
The Last King of Scotland suffers the same fate.
Except in this film, aside from Forrest Whitaker's good performance as Idi Amin, James McAvoy also gives a…
The story of Idi Amin is messy and brutal. It deserves to be told, so that we can understand the terrors created by leaders such as him. His legacy in Uganda and wider perceptions of Africa is something that needs to be reckoned with. However The Last King of Scotland is not so suitable as that film. It turns these events into a cheap thriller at times, and centres a British man as the main narrative presence. A man, incidentally, who is not so interesting. Not that a European-centric film can't work in some contexts, but The Last King of Scotland doesn't deliver any examination of Western interests in Africa, unlike a similar film such as The Constant Gardener. The…
patiently waiting for the day that james mcavoy finally gets the recognition he deserves
Forest Whitaker is terrific portraying Idi Amin, intimidating, terrifying, and the best performance I've ever seen from him. Knowing nothing of this story and Amin's presidential reign in Uganda, I was shocked to see what happened under his tenue. Excellent direction, a quality screenplay that is riveting and wholly investing. The Last King of Scotland is a brilliant political thriller.
Forest Whitaker is an absolute force as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. The film itself is average as best, with some very of-its-time filmmaking techniques and I don’t mean that endearingly. The lighting is really bad, though there was some decent camerawork at certain points. McAvoy makes the most of what he’s given but really, the only reason to watch this movie is for Whitaker’s intense and affright performance, which won him an Academy Award for Best Actor—well deserved, in my opinion. The script is kinda weak, but he elevated the material and delivers like no one else could. He becomes Amin; utterly terrifying and very impressive work. It may be his best performance that I’ve seen and that says a lot considering how great of an actor he is. Recommended for his performance and that’s pretty much it.
Far less than half the film it could be. 'Wild' Africa is cranked up where necessary, playing up the stereotypes to appease turning what should be a fascinating character study into a bog standard thriller. What should be an African story told through African eyes somehow becomes the same old sob story of a white guy trying to flee the savages. Bar a couple of fleeting moments of paranoia, all of Whitaker's excellent work - possibly his best - is left without nowhere near enough context to understand his brutality and madness within.
Instead it becomes a story about the shattering of Carrigan's idealism, saying nothing about the destruction of families and communities within Uganda. "Violence must be met with…
would probably be more interesting if it was actually about amin and not a made up scottish doctor
Idi Amin: Did you think this was all a game? 'I will go to Africa and I will play the white man with the natives.' Is that what you thought? We are not a game, Nicholas. We are real.
The Last King of Scotland is just but another proof of why Forest Whitaker should me in more films (and as a main actor). You can feel in his performance the many phases his character goes through: from the propagandist "I am one of you people" to the paranoid dictator.
I think it's great to have films such as this one to depict the horrors of a "non-westerned country" that some people tend to forget way too easily. Idi Amin was…
