Review of The Last King of Scotland (2006) by Robert C — 09 Jan 2012

Everyone applauds Whitaker (who is admittedly brilliant) but since the story is told from Nick's point of view, isn't he the lead? He is an unlikable, selfish & naive character who spends the whole film deserting or betraying all of the characters he meets;.

1. Deserts his parents,.

2. Betrays doctor,.

3. Deserts doctor & his wife,.

4. Betrays Amin (by sleeping with his wife, tries (pathetically) to kill him),.

5. Doesn't help British spys,.

6. Gets Health Minister into trouble,.

7. Gets cheating wife into trouble by driving around in a convertible car with her during the day,.

8. Does nothing to help Ugandan situation at the end when he has the chance and motives.

Nick does nothing in any way to undermine Amins regime, he just sampled the good & bad extremes of it, & went home ASAP.

The story of how Amin gradually rose to power, how his character and convictions were shaped through adolescence, how he developed his distrust in those that helped him rise to power, how he "lost his way", his descension to madness etc would have been much more interesting.

We just have to accept that he is bi-polar from the first time we meet him and prone to extreme paranoia and dribbling when he opens his mouth. He is (by virtue of Whitakers portrayal) the centre of the film but has no arc, he is dangerous, unpredictable & evil the whole way through. The audience can see it but Nick does not as he is stupid. He has a gradual realisation of whats going on, but has no arc either. He is selfish and foolish at the start, & is only concerned with his own escape @ the end, forced into action to save his own skin.

Unsatisfying, unbelievable & offensive. 2 stars are for Forest.