The Last King of Scotland
At the center of the Last King of Scotland is
Forest Whitaker's performance as the irascible, insane, love-able, paranoid Idi Amin. Seeing the premiere of this film at
Telluride was both electrifying and terrifying. Whitaker's transformation into one of the worst madman dictators to rule an African nation (in recent history) was truly breath taking to behold and has oscar nomination written all over it. Who would have guessed, that Whitaker who typically plays the sensitive teddy bear type (even as a Samurai assassin in
Ghost Dog) would ever offer up such a potent and frightening performance.
But the
Last King of Scotland is more than just a vehicle for Whitaker's performance. The film is a powerful demonstration of all the trappings of power.
James McAvoy as a young, naive doctor, Nicholas Garrigan who becomes the personal physician to Amin in the film, serves to drive this point home as he is seduced by Amin's charm and his offering of vast amounts of access to his power and ill gotten wealth. What begins as a fun ride for Garrigan into the inner sanctums of Amin's administration takes a turn into the violence and paranoia and destruction that defined his regime.
This film is a fantastic turn towards dramatic narrative for director
Kevin Macdonald. His direction of the film is solid. His choice to employ a cinema veritae style in some of the most dramatic moments of the film lends a directness and emotional immediacy. He demonstrates that the directorial competency he brought to the historical documentary,
One Day in September is transferable to the narrative filmmaking realm.
In the Last King of Scotland, the power of the cinema is on full display. There is critical and award buzz written all over this film. It's not to be missed!