The Last King Of Scotland

A superb protrayal of a madman

from JoeUser Forums
Forrest Whitaker plays Idi Amin almost to perfection. In the beginning of the film you are almost swept away with his enthusiastic performance, almost liking the character Idi Amin and hating yourself for liking him because you know that he was a monster. Whitaker pulls off Amin’s charisma brilliantly.

The film focuses on the young Scottish doctor that Idi Amin takes into his fold. The film makers want you to like the doctor, they want you to sympathise with his naiveté. They want you to leave the film feeling relief for him and despite your best efforts you do so. I fought against that feeling of relief for him, despising his naiveté and his ignorance, believing he deserved what was coming to him, yet still the film makers achieved their goal; I sighed a very heavy sigh of relief for the young doctor when he boards that plane. I did get irritated at the end of the movie when they said what happened to Idi Amin but did not update what had happened to the doctor.

The descent of Idi Amin into madness is shown slowly, subtlety at first and then it becomes more obvious about two thirds of the way in to the film. You start to get very fidgety in your seat as you see the doctor starting to dance around like the proverbial cat on a hot tin roof as Amin blows hot and cold without a moments notice.

Forrest Whitakers gives an outstanding performance as Idi Amin, one that is believable and realistic. You get the feeling he studied miles and miles of film footage of Amin to get the character right. The accent too is also believable and very well done. Bravo Whittaker, you were brilliant.
11,992 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
A memorable performance and a film I will watch again in a few months time.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
I have not seen the film, but based upon your review, I can see why he won Best Actor.
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
I have not seen the film


Oh Doc it is well worth the viewing, you must try to make the effort to see it, he really is good as Idi Amin. It is also a fairly good history lesson too (without being boring!) .
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
I did get irritated at the end of the movie when they said what happened to Idi Amin but did not update what had happened to the doctor.


Idi Amin was a real person. The "doctor" was a completely fictitious individual - thus, what would be the point of making up an ending to a made-up character?

In fact, that was the only part I didn't like about the film - that they invented the doctor. But still, your assessment was right - Forest Whitaker was incredible in it.
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
The "doctor" was a completely fictitious individual - thus, what would be the point of making up an ending to a made-up character?


Dr. Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), is fictional — though he did have a kind of real-life counterpart in a former British soldier named Bob Astles, who became one of Amin's closest advisors and was known in the British press as "Amin's white rat. Giles Foden interviewed Astles for the book of the Last King of Scotland and used much of his back-story to fill in the details of the fictional Garrigan.

The facts and fiction have been interwoven to complete the story and give it appeal. They could have put the information about the doctor as in the soldier on whom the character is VERY loosely based. The fact they have woven fact and fiction together allows them to put up the happenings of the doctor at the end of the movie...it would just have completed it..just so.

Yes Whitaker was excellent no doubt about it.
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
I have seen this, Forest Whitaker was mesmerizing.

it was not a docudrama with the fictionalised character of Garrigan running through the movie as a lead, Dada's character was documented well. the director blended the two together cleverly.

the Entebbe airport hostage drama back in '76, I cannot remember the truth, did a plane pick up the non Jewish passengers? I do recall the Israeli making a spectacular rescue.


Were Shakespeare around today, he would write a play about Idi Amin and his antics, what a work that would be.
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
I cannot remember the truth, did a plane pick up the non Jewish passengers?


Gosh, I don't know, it was so long ago now - net search?

Were Shakespeare around today, he would write a play about Idi Amin and his antics, what a work that would be.


That is an interesting idea, it would be quite something to read.