Movie Review: The Last King of Scotland (2006)

Meet Nicholas Garrigan. He's rich, young, and charming. Fresh out of medical school in Scotland, he wants what every male youth wants - to annoy his father. So Nicholas goes to Uganda, to a charitable mission run by a Brit doctor and his wife (Gillian Anderson). There, through a series of fateful events he ends up being asked by Idi Amin to become his personal physician. Reluctant to leave the mission at first, a night spent wining and dining at Amin's lush palace sways him to accept the position. Over there, he displays a blatant disregard for reality by ignoring events occurring around him and antagonizing a British diplomat (played brilliantly by Simon McBurney) who tries to warn him. When the truth does finally sink in, he realizes that Amin owns everyone on his payroll - to work for Amin, is to sell your soul to him.

Idi Amin was a sociopath, to put it mildly. It is said that he decapitated the dissidents of his coup, placed their heads around the presidential dining table and lectured to them, frequently taking bites of their flesh. He also massacred hundreds of thousands of his countrymen and evicted all people of South Asian descent from Uganda, bringing its economy to its knees. If you've seen Mira Nair's Mississippi Masala, you've seen Roshan Seth play one of Amin's victims. Charismatic, charming, murderous and larger than life, Amin gave himself the grandiose title: His Excellency President for Life Field Marshal Al Hadji Dr. Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, King of Scotland Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular. The "King of Scotland" part inspired the title of the book on which the film is based, and came from an empathy that Amin had with the Scottish, as countries both colonized by the British. Always operating on the edge of sanity and excessively paranoid, Amin shamelessly played on people's weaknesses to get them to do his bidding. It was no different with Garrigan who fluctuated between being Amin's 'personal physician' and his 'closest personal adviser'. The latter being used flatteringly earlier on in the film, and accusingly towards the end, when things fall apart.

In some perverse way, it's almost as if Garrigan and Amin were made for each other. Both are charming, and both are deluded enough to believe in Amin's goodness. If Jack McCoy from Law and Order were to prosecute them, he'd certainly indict Garrigan as an accessory to Amin's crimes. In reality, Amin was never convicted of his crimes - he died at the ripe old age of 79 in 2003, enjoying the stolen riches of his beloved Uganda, and the extradition-free hospitality of Saudi Arabian royalty. Garrigan is never convicted either, since he is a fictional character created by Giles Foden, who wrote the book on which the movie is based. He is used by Foden to perhaps represent the naïve Westerner who is blissfully ignorant of the goings on in African nations - the British were instrumental in creating Amin, the dictator. And he is used by the filmmakers to both highlight Amin's insanity and ground the viewer as Amin moves further away from reality as the movie progresses.

Shot mostly on location in Uganda, although it is based on actual events, the movie is largely fictional. The director, Kevin MacDonald, has a knack for creating docu-dramas, including the highly acclaimed Touching the Void, about mountaineer Joe Simpson's travails in the Peruvian Andes. While he doesn't delve too much into the history of Uganda or its complicated relationship with the British, he focuses on the more interesting relationship between Garrigan and Amin. By doing this, he doesn't create a documentary, but a taut thriller. But MacDonald's background in documentaries is not lost to cinematographer Anthony Dodd Mantle (known for his work in Lars Von Trier's recent films), who creates an extraordinarily realistic feel throughout the film. Using hand held cameras, jump cuts and unusual angles, Mantle creates a fast-paced-ness that drives the movie forward without allowing the audience to lose track of the reality of the situation. At one point in the film, Forest Whitaker (as Amin) is talking and in the middle of his lines, the camera slides down slowly and focuses on his body, almost as if the cameraman fell asleep. This not only adds to the realism of the film, but also keeps the audience at the edge of their seat, creating a desire to see Amin's face while he's talking. These tricks are used throughout the movie to frustrate, shock and thrill.

While Garrigan is played ably by James AcAvoy, it is Forest Whitaker's performance as Amin that is superlative. Whitaker spent several months in Uganda, talking with relatives and victims of Amin. He learned enough Swahili to adlib with the local cast and even ate the local food to get a "eucharistic" understanding of the culture and its peoples. He completely immersed himself in the role. Whitaker is afflicted with a condition called strabismus, commonly (but incorrectly) known as 'lazy eye'. Even this biological affliction comes across as part of Amin's mania as one eye roves wildly across the room, while the other rests lazily on Garrigan. Whitaker's ferocious vitality in his portrayal of Amin's resounding laughter, his energy and his love for wine, women and food make him come across like everybody's favorite uncle. But his paranoia and his subtle but menacingly exploitative dialogues are delivered with a frightening realism which even Whitaker apparently found hard to rid himself of, after shooting ended during his days on the set. This is, by all accounts, an exceptional portrayal and certainly Oscar-worthy, despite what one might think of the film overall.

The Last King of Scotland is a study in reality. It strives to be the über-documentary, encompassing everything a good action film should have, while contrasting the stark reality of Amin's mental and physical atrocities, his own deluded sense of reality, and the blatant disregard for reality by Garrigan. The direction is good, the cinematography great and the acting superb. Although it has been accused of being lengthy, it is, in reality, fast-paced. Whether it annoys for its superficiality or exhilarates for its thrills, it is worth watching for Whitaker's excellent portrayal. It is highly recommended for on screen viewing.