REVIEW
The Last King of Scotland – Powerful, Potent and Pleasing

Ultimately breathtaking, ultimately terrifying, The Last King of Scotland gives a poignant glimpse into the atrocities committed by one disarming man and the affects his charming evil has on one naïve and selfish boy.  It is a powerful and gripping punch in the emotional gut that showcases its three stars – Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy and Africa herself – like never before.

This indie of epic proportions comes from Fox Searchlight Pictures and garnered Oscar-buzz well before the Academy had even passed out ballots. The film, based off of the novel by Jeremy Brock, Giles Foden and Peter Morgan, takes a page out of the not to distant bleak history of Uganda . . . and it does so in a manner that can only be described as extraordinary.

The Last King of Scotland is the story of Dr. Nicolas Garrigan (McAvoy) who, more out of a longing for adventure than out of any true desire to help, heads to Africa to offer his newly minted medical services to the people of Uganda.  Lacking both insight into the inner workings of the Ugandan political scene and motivation to rectify his ignorance, Garrigan is quickly and easily seduced by the charismatic and magnetic emerging leader, General Idi Amin Dada (Forest Whitaker).

The nearest doctor around when Amin finds himself the victim of a car accident, Garrigan excitedly renders his services. Within a matter of days, he finds himself accepting the position of Amin’s personal physician, getting comfortable within the General’s inner circle and beginning to live the life. With a plush apartment, finely tailored clothes, a Mercedes convertible and his pick of the women Amin brings his way, Garrigan doesn’t question.  He just accepts.

However, after the gruesome aftershocks of an attempt on Amin’s life reverberate through the city, Nicholas’s naivety and Amin’s jovial mask begin to slip.  We find ourselves trapped with Garrigan in a world that is more gruesome than lovely, more treacherous than jovial, more frighteningly deadly than beguilingly perfect.  

Director Kevin Macdonald elicits awe-inspiring performances from both his leads.  Forest Whitaker embodies the role of Amin, fully cutting away any vestiges of his own personality and relishing each and every nuanced tick of Amin’s dynamically disparate personage.  Alternately jovial and conniving, alternately charismatic and murderous, Whitaker is utterly deserving of the accolades that came and continue to come his way. 

But while Whitaker is easy, flawless, powerful – everything an Oscar-winning actor should be – James McAvoy was, to put it simply, robbed. The lead actor of this film, the voyeuristic entry point for viewers, the main character of this script is more truly Nicholas Garrigan and McAvoy’s portrayal of this selfish, thoughtlessly naive boy who transforms into an acutely aware and changed man is absolutely phenomenal.

It is baffling that McAvoy was so blatantly overlooked by the Academy . . . but at the same time it makes sense. When someone can realistically and persuasively take on a character seemingly good and then transform into pure evil, Oscar gold is all but assured.  Whitaker does this with General Amin and then some.  But a distinction cannot be made between Garrigan and Amin.  Everything Garrigan does is fueled by the General, reveals something more about the General, is pivotal to our understanding of the General.  But without Garrigan to react to Amin’s atrocities, you don’t have a movie.  Thus, it feels that by not honoring McAvoy, a small injustice is being committed against not only the main actors but against the film itself.   

Gillian Anderson is nearly unrecognizable as Sarah Merrit, the overlooked wife of the heroic resident doctor.  She is a long way away from her X-file days.  Kerry Washington gives a surprisingly polished performance as Kay, the out of favor third wife of Amin.  Aside from a few scenes, Washington’s permanent scowl disappears, allowing for a disarming look into a vulnerable and scared young woman. 

Using his skillful cinematography, Anthony Dod Mantle highlights the other lead actor of the film – Africa.  Painting a vivid and excellent portrait of Kampala, Mantle juxtaposes the decadent affluence of the city against the airy lightness of the more rural towns with beautiful colors and intimate shots that are simply inspired. 

Editor Justine Wright plays off this foundation beautifully – her opening sequence showcases Nicholas’s easy but stifling life in Scotland against the colorful, chaotic and costly freedom of Uganda in a manner that is simultaneously informative and intriguing. She lays the foundation for the entire film succinctly and economically, dazzling our eyes with rich landscapes, smiling dark faces and a mischievous glimmer in the eye of Dr. Nicholas Garrigan.  

Ultimately, The Last King of Scotland is a little indie that could and is well-deserving of a celebrated and honored down-hill run.