Review of The Last King of Scotland (2006) by Patrick M — 14 Jan 2011
The Last King of Scotland recreates Uganda after the rise to power of Idi Amin (Forrest Whitaker). The story is told from the perspective of Amin's personal physician, Dr Garrigan (James McAvoy).
Whitaker delivers what many have accurately described as the performance of Whitaker's career. Whitaker not only portrayed Amin for the camera, he became him. There are times in the film where Whitaker is so intense, so into the character, that you can smell Amin's insanity like a foul odor in the wind. Every scene with Whitaker leaves you wondering if it will be the scene where he snaps. Whitaker goes from bright, charismatic, and fun loving to terrifying. His expressions speak volumes more than even his lines do. Whitaker deservedly won an Oscar for his riveting performance in the film. The performances of the other actors and actresses in the film were merely adequate and paled in comparison to Whitaker's.
The first half hour of the film grabs your attention but the time building up to the last half hour or so of the movie seems to drag on a bit. I started to lose interest toward the middle of the movie (that says a great deal coming from me) but the film built its tempo back up to its thrilling finish.
Without Whitaker's star performance, I would have stopped watching the movie halfway through, but Whitaker carries the movie through to make it worth watching. Worth a trip to the rental store but not worth purchasing the DVD.
RECOMENDATION:Rent (don't buy).
This review of The Last King of Scotland (2006) was written by Patrick M on 14 Jan 2011.
The Last King of Scotland has generally received very positive reviews.
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