Thursday, July 26, 2007

The Last King of Scotland


Forest Whitaker stars in an Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning role as brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in this drama. During an African medical mission in the 1970s, Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) impresses Amin by acting swiftly in a crisis. Installed as the dictator's personal physician soon thereafter, Garrigan enjoys the perks of his new position, until he begins to become aware of Amin's inhumanity -- and his own complicity.

Greetings again from the darkness. A true tour de force by Forest Whitaker ... the best performance of the year so far! Somehow Mr. Whitaker captures the madness and charm of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Amin was one of the first political rock stars. He used the media to his advantage as his regime slaughtered hundreds of thousands of his countrymen.

Forest Whitaker, IS Amin in this feature. Whitaker is not the silent sometimes brooding character you remember in other films he has been in. His accent,his face, and his emotions seem to no longer be Whitaker's but Amin's. This movie will scare the viewer because of its realism, and how it builds up to a tension that is hard to endure. The visuals are not for the squeamish. Go ahead and hide your eyes during the "tough" scenes. It is still worth seeing this movie for the fast paced story, realistic drama, fascinating tale, and for the unbelievable acting. By the end of the movie the audience is exhausted, but satisfied that they saw a worthy flick.

Rating : 3/5

1 comment:

furious sun said...

This was one of the more interesting movies I've seen in a while. It was a bit long and lacked some, but its unique topic really captured me.