The Last King of Scotland
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (15)
D: Kevin MacDonald
Fox Searchlight/DNA/Film4 (Andrea Calderwood, Lisa Bryer &
Charles Steel)
US/UK 2006
117 mins
Drama/Biopic
W: Peter Morgan & Jeremy Brock [based on
the novel by Giles Foden]
DP: Anthony Dod Mantle
Ed: Justine Wright
Mus: Alex Heffes
PD: Michael Carlin
Forest Whitaker (Idi Amin), James McAvoy (Nicholas
Garrigan), Kerry Washington (Kay Amin), Simon McBurney (Stone), Gillian Anderson (Sarah Merrit)
Forest Whitaker provides one of the best performances in
recent memory with his portrayal of evil Idi Amin, which deservedly won him, amongst other awards, the Best Actor Oscar.
As the brutal Ugandan dictator, he seduces an impressionable
but naïve Scottish doctor (played by James McAvoy) who is so blinded by the friendly facade of the ruler that he fails to notice his corruption of the country.
Kevin McDonald's direction remains gripping throughout and he
delivers one of the best British pictures of the decade.
8/10
