MovieWatcher: The Last King Of Scotland

The Last King of Scotland is one of those movies that I should have broken my “I don’t go to the movies” rule to go and see…it was stunning! I was taken in with this movie from the beginning and it didn’t let me go until the credits roll…I love that!

Let me begin by saying that although the story is focused around Idi Amin’s reign, his relationship with Dr. Nicholas Garrigan and other elements of the tale are fiction. The story, however, is captivating. James McAvoy as Dr. Nicholas Garrigan is fresh out of college, looking to get away from his parents, and chooses to travel to Uganda for adventure and to “help.” What he gets is the last thing he probably ever imagined. His chance meeting with Idi Amin on the side of a road leads to him being selected as the dictator’s personal physician, then personal advisor…all hell breaks loose after that.

Which leads me to the absolutely, devastatingly excellent performance of Forrest Whitaker. Forrest is one of those actors who studies. He totally immerses himself in whatever role he undertakes; and the end result is always magnificent. I recall watching him on several episodes of ER; the man’s talent was so above ER, it was ridiculous (and I happened to love ER). This role, however…this role simply was him. Like Denzel was Malcolm, like Jamie was Ray…Forrest was Idi Amin. Forrest did an exceptional job of capturing what was Idi Amin’s erratic behavior, switching moods from sweet to crazy in seconds. Never knowing between scenes what you were going to see next was one of the best things about this movie.

The storyline, with it’s fictional tale weaved into historical facts, was easy to follow. The real story is interestingly enough; but I understand why the fiction is there for the movie. It is a smooth movie; going from one scene to the next is effortless; I didn’t feel as though I missed anything.

Overall, a very good movie. I would recommend it.

Rating: 8.5

Next up: Things We Lost in the Fire

It’s all love…