Review of The Last King of Scotland (2006) by Jasdeep C — 08 Dec 2009

This movie is full of great performances, but a weak storyline. James MacAvoy plays impossibly naive Dr. James Garrigan, a Scottish doctor who comes to Uganda to escape his life, and starts working with a medical clinic in Mgambo, a small town in the beautiful countryside of Uganda.

Through complete 'twist of fate', he ends up being Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's personal doctor and personal friend. Idi Amin is obsessed with all things Scottish and upon learning that James in Scottish, trusts him with all of his important decisions.

Forest Whitaker does a fantastic job playing the megalomanic dictator, and rightly deserved an Oscar for his portrayal of the madman. James' character was too naive and put himself too easily into the hands of Amin, until it's too late.

Even in the end, he does nothing to try and stand up for himself. He expects everyone else to save him, which does nothing to endear himself to the audience. I don't know if this was a deliberate attempt by the director, but I found it irritating and annoying.

The other supporting characters weren't fleshed out enough and were more stereotypes as opposed to real characters. It's still worth watching and I'm glad that I rented it. I just wish it was better.