You Have Grossly Offended Your Father (The Last King Of Scotland (DVD))

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	The Last King Of Scotland (DVD)
Date:	02/02/07 (403 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gripping, well-acted thriller

Disadvantages: I expected to learn more about Idi Amin

It is the 1970s. When Scottish medical student Nicholas Garrigan graduates, he is faced with a dull life, forever living and working in the shadow of his father. Unable to accept this as his lot, he randomly selects a place in the world, packs his bags and finds himself travelling out to a Ugandan medical mission. Almost immediately upon his arrival, he finds himself completely enthralled by the country’s culture, as well as taking something of a shine to the only other doctor’s wife, Sarah, who seems lonely and in need of attention.

In the local villages, word spreads of a local general who has seized power, and when Nicholas hears that the infamous general is to attend a local political rally, he persuades Sarah to join him and witness a small piece of Uganda’s history. The general’s name is Idi Amin, and as soon as he appears on the stage, it is clear that his name will mean many things to many people. When the general is slightly injured in a road accident a short while later, Nicholas is summoned to attend, and after a tense exchange of views, he somehow befriends Amin. Days later, he is summoned to the general’s palace, where he is offered a job as Amin’s physician. With his loyalties torn, he finally agrees to take the role and leaves the mission behind for a much higher profile existence.

Despite his charming manner, Amin is not, however, the people-driven leader he professes to be. As the media fills with tales of atrocities at the hands of the dictator, Nicholas finds it harder and harder to turn a blind eye to what is going on around him. Until, that is, it becomes too late…..

If you look at any of the current lists of film award nominees, The Last King of Scotland is up there with the best of them. Directed by Kevin MacDonald (previously known for his documentary Touching the Void), The Last King of Scotland is arguably a worthy recipient of such attention. A gripping and often disturbing tale, The Last King is complemented by colourful direction, an excellent script and outstanding performances from its leads.

The Last King is not a biopic of Idi Amin. Indeed, Idi Amin is not really the lead character, in spite of the fact that his presence seems to dominate every frame. I went into the Last King of Scotland expecting to learn a lot about the life of the infamous man, but was surprised to actually find that there was very little to be found that would educate. The film is based on a novel of the same name, which has some inspiration from true events but is not all based on fact. Most of the detail around Idi Amin is portrayed accurately, including his poor childhood and service in the British Empire army. His subsequent dislike of the British is also accurate as is the portrayal of his rise to power. The film’s climactic scenes at the country’s main airport are also based around a genuine Palestinian hijack, in which Amin played a key role. The film’s title refers to a claim once made by Idi Amin that he was the last king of Scotland, having annexed the country and taken control.

Nicholas Garrigan, however, is largely a fictitious character. The book’s author indicates that he based much of Garrigan’s character on an English soldier who worked his way into Amin’s confidence rather more proactively but was also imprisoned as a result of it. There is some rumour that a Scottish doctor did at one time work for Amin but this seems unfounded. It’s important to be clear, therefore that the film is essentially a work of fiction. There’s nothing wrong with this, of course, and MacDonald’s documentary style of film making cleverly seems to suggest that it is rather more than plain fiction throughout.

What this doesn’t change, however, is that the film is well-made, with stunning location footage and a lack of sensationalism that would have dogged other directors. The Ugandan setting is well-used, shifting effortlessly from rural to urban locations and back again without making judgments on its culture or people. In the cities modernisation is taking hold, with a diverse cultural mix in the shops and 1970s fashion on the streets. In the villages, the people still live in subsistence and the witch doctor still reigns supreme. MacDonald appreciates the dramatic impact of each. The film has a grainy feel to it, as if to permanently remind you of the hot, dusty climate but also aging the piece somewhat to keep it in line with the thirty-year gap between then and now.

The Last King is a film of two very different halves. Initially, the story is surprisingly light-hearted and even more surprisingly, Amin is portrayed in a fairly positive light. At the early political rally, he is inspiring and sincere. In his meetings with Garrigan, he is charming and funny and it is easy to see how Garrigan (and many others) are initially fooled by his engaging demeanour. It is largely an unfortunate turn of events with one Amin’s ministers (prompted by Garrigan himself) that marks a turning point in the film, and from there it descends into a fast-paced and tense thriller. As things turn from bad to worse, there are some fairly gruesome scenes of torture in the film, as you might expect – a climactic scene in the airport features a particularly unpleasant torture scene, clearly justifying the film’s 15 certificate. At around two hours, the film’s length isn’t excessive and the pace is such that you’ll be hooked right up until the very end.

Forest Whittaker’s portrayal of Idi Amin is outstanding, and worthy of the many award nominations. It’s not difficult to believe that Whittaker character-acted for several months off set and he literally seems to become Idi Amin. Powerful, passionate, charming and intriguing, it’s very hard not to rate Whittaker’s performance very highly. More credit to him and the director, in that somehow, in spite of his powerhouse performance, he doesn’t take over the film. James McAvoy’s Nicholas Garrigan is also a strong character but, strangely enough, I found him rather less appealing than Amin. Rather disrespectful, arrogant (he always seems to know best) and disparaging of the English, he shags everything that moves and engenders very little sympathy when his pleasure turns to pain. Nonetheless, McAvoy and Whittaker work extremely well together, with fiery chemistry between the two of them. The only casualty of this is pretty much the rest of the film’s cast, who seem lost amidst the two star turns, particularly Gillian Anderson (she played Scully in the X Files) who is sorely underused.

I liked The Last King. It was an intelligent, well-made movie with unquestionably impressive performances all round. It’s certainly more of a thriller than a biopic, but in its class, it’s powerful, exciting stuff.

Recommended

Summary: Documentary-style drama with powerhouse performance