Reviews of The Last King of Scotland

Beware of Quick Friends

Posted : 1 year, 5 months ago on 14 June 2008 11:00 (A review of The Last King of Scotland)

I moved around a lot as a child, and something I learned along the way was to be wary of people who wanted to become friends quickly. Obviously the main character in this movie never learned that lesson, and quickly became trapped as confidant to a capricious despot. If someone likes you that quickly, they will probably hate you that quickly as well. Although the acting is great, and the locations are fascinating, I really never found the characters to be interesting and found myself watching the clock, never really wrapped up in the story. A good movie for the historical and cultural aspects, but missing something in the all-around.

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Astonishing!

Posted : 1 year, 6 months ago on 26 May 2008 06:15 (A review of The Last King of Scotland)

"If you're afraid of dying it shows you have a life worth living."

The Last King of Scotland is an intense, embracing thriller inspired by the true historical events of a horrible dictatorship that grappled Uganda throughout the 1970s. In the contemporary period of filmmaking it's an arduous undertaking to discover a film that truly stands out. With this film director Kevin Macdonald has outstandingly crafted a compelling drama abundant with tremendous power.

Nicholas Garrigan (McAvoy) is a flourishing young semi-idealistic Scottish doctor with an aspiration to escape from his conservative father. Nicholas moves to Uganda hoping to lend a hand and have some fun in the process. But he arrives in Uganda during a complicated time as the country is under the new leadership of President Ida Amin (Whitaker). Nicholas becomes inadvertently entangled with the president during a moment of crisis. Amin is highly impressed by Nicholas' attitude, medical skill, clever thinking and witty attitude: offering him a position as his personal physician and closest confidante. Although Nicholas is deeply honoured with the position he soon discovers the brutal savagery of Amin's regime. He had anticipated a wild escapade in a far-off country, but finds himself instead on a shocking ride into the darkest realm on earth: the human heart. Dismay and treachery ensue as Nicholas strives to right his wrongs and escape Uganda forever.

This mesmerising thriller goes exactly where you expect it will, but it's radiantly fuelled by the powerhouse performances from everyone in the cast. Forest Whitaker was correctly presented with an Oscar for his stunning portrayal. The actor carves an incredibly unforgettable portrait of a psychopathic dictator who ravaged his country. Whitaker's character progressively changes throughout the course of the film. At first he is friendly and forgiving. From Whitaker's charismatic portrayal an audience could never conceive this man turning sour. Sure enough into the second half his attitude turns bitter.

James McAvoy is a convincing young Scotsman. With every line he sounds like the genuine article (he was born in Glasgow). Like Whitaker's interpretation of President Amin, McAvoy's character also undergoes a substantial change throughout the movie. At first meek and willing to help, he is soon driven to gross determination as his single goal is to escape the country. The final few scenes in particular display a haunting performance by James McAvoy. Both central actors are absolutely unforgettable.

A drama in this vein relies on its steady performances as well as its visual images. The film is lavishly shot and showcases some absolutely gorgeous locations. Every minute of this film is as gripping as the minute preceding it. The storyline is particularly fascinating and never lets the viewer lose interest. Towards the film's conclusion the imagery becomes extremely heavy. This heightened sense of realism accurately displays the true atrocities that actually occurred. Due to the violence and grotesque images this is not a film for the faint of heart.

The Last King of Scotland is a brilliant drama elevated by its credible cast and concentrated directing. This is a nasty piece of history astoundingly told with a high level of realism. It's not entirely true to its source material of course (hence tagged as 'inspired by true events'); however the film is riveting and hard-hitting. An intricately created masterpiece that cannot be missed!

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The Last King of Scotland review

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 24 September 2007 08:24 (A review of The Last King of Scotland)

There's no doubting that this is a fantastic movie. I can only echo previous comments about the quality of acting throughout the film, particularly from Whitaker. His portrayal of Amin was great, to see how he transformed into a brutal and extremely scary person was very convincing. I always felt nervous for James McAvoy's character whenever he went into a room with Amin towards the end. You could almost feel how frightened he was yourself.

However, I found it very difficult to sympathise with Garrigan at all other times. He was a complete bastard in my opinion. There may be spoilers ahead here, but first he sleeps with an African woman before up and leaving her, then he tried to make Gillian Anderson's character cheat on her husband with him, despite the continued hospitality he has given him, and then he makes the craziest mistake ever when he sleeps with Amin's wife. He almost deserves everything that happens to him at the end of the film.

It was a fantastic story though. It kept me entertained from start to finish.

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The Last King of Scotland

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 12 September 2007 05:35 (A review of The Last King of Scotland)

I just recently saw a preview for this movie, and I knew I had to see it. Now that I have, I definitely wasn't disappointed. This was a well-told story that keeps you hooked from start to finish.

I really enjoyed this movie, despite some brutal scenes, which were not overly drawn out. Well written, excellently acted.

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excellent

Posted : 2 years, 5 months ago on 11 July 2007 09:09 (A review of The Last King of Scotland)

Dr Garrigan (James McAvoy) expects to find exotism in Uganda. He certainly will find it, especially after meeting the country's President, Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) and becoming his personal physician. A chain of events will change Garrigan's life, forever.

Absolutely wonderful, brilliant cast. I especially approve of Whitaker's "African" accent in English. Excellent portrayal of those people. McAvoy's character is extremely naive and he does a great acting job.

The ending may be quite shocking to some, I myself couldn't bear to watch a few minutes of very gruesome (but necessary and justified) violence (after 1h45 minutes of watching).

Certainly not a disappointment.
A well directed film, I highly recommend it.


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Wow

Posted : 2 years, 5 months ago on 24 June 2007 11:49 (A review of The Last King of Scotland)

Sometimes when there is a movie you are looking forward to seeing and have certain expectations for you can end up being disappointed. I was far from disappointed with this film, I was absolutely riveted. Forest Whitaker put in a marvellous performance and did a fantastic job portraying a very scary man. I highly recommend this film and I think it's by far one of the best I've seen this year.

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