The Last King of Scotland (UK) (Fox Searchlight) (2006) ****Year: 2006iMDB
Director: Kevin Macdonald Cast: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson
A young and naive Scottish doctor chooses to start his practice in Uganda, but just as he starts getting used to the tough realities of medical life in a remote village where shaman healings are still the prefered method of treatment, he gets to meet Idi Amin (Whitaker), the new Ugandian president. Amin's charisma charms Nick (McAvoy) same way it was charming the rest of the country, and he accepts to become Amin's personal doctor.
The movie gradually changes tone and pace as Amin's fears, paranoia and cruelty become less and less subdued and apparent to everyone. Although based on a work of fiction, the movie depicts extremely accurately the rise of one of the most powerful and cruel African dictators.
With a veritable tour de force by Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland is one of the most powerful movies of the year so far, delicately avoiding cliches and remaining true and believable up until the very end.
Posted by TheCasualCritic on October 21, 2006 11:04 AM | TrackBack