The Last King of Scotland

Posted by Loukas Tsouknidas (loukas@filmschoolrejects.com) on January 19, 2007

Forest Whitaker rules; He rules Uganda as General Idi Amin Dada in Kevin McDonald’s adaptation of the Giles Foden novel, “The Last King of Scotland” and he rules the screen as the great actor that he is. His Golden Globe only underlines the obvious. Now how about an Oscar?

General Idi Amin Dada was flamboyant and funny at times but his rule wasn’t dada-istic at all. After grabbing the presidency from Milton Obote, he took the role of the father figure for all Ugandans going from mighty to mad in only a few years, slaughtering thousands on his way and dying a free man in exile in the end.

Foden’s novel is a fictional take on the fearsome ruler’s days where a Scottish volunteer doctor becomes his personal favorite, Dada had a crush on Scotland, and experiences his newfound friend’s road to madness in full gear until their own unavoidable conflict. Kevin McDonald’s film is scripted a tad differently but the main storyline is the same.

The young doctor seeks new experiences and adventures so he goes to Uganda to contribute something along the way. In a very engaging incident he meets in person with Dada and wins his confidence and admiration. When he is offered the honor of being his personal physician he can’t refuse. Still a carefree young man, he is about to grow up abruptly after he sees what’s really going on under the new establishment. James McAvoy is very good at this part finishing his on-screen presence a completely different man.

But the screen is jammed with Whitaker’s performance. You can’t say much about it except that he showcases his broad range once more, reminding the world how overlooked he is; step back, the underdog cometh.

McDonald’s direction is great with a lot of cutaways underlining the action and an accomplished sense of reality in the Ugandan sets. The movie never loses pace with the two main characters evolving together and the small doses of action keeping the viewer on his toes.

It’s not easy for a westerner to understand what goes on in Africa. The ethnic background seems much too complicated than just a matter of color and the mixing of all those cultures and religions didn’t do much help. Sometimes, the part idealist part soldier of fortune doctor looks as lost as any of us would be.

A great movie like this one always clears things up a little.

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