The Last King of Scotland
Tuesday, August 12, 2008


Forrest Whitaker is awesome. Period.

This film is supposed to be about Idi Amin, seen through the eyes of a nascent Scottish doctor. Granted, James McAvoy plays a cute, naive, and well intentioned Dr. Nicholas Garrigan. He doesn't realize how deep the doo-doo he's in, until it is nearly too late.

In my humble opinion, Forrest Whitaker owns this movie from the moment he appears on screen. He's compelling, scary, unpredictable, canny, and paranoid. One wonders what he's going to do next.

This Idi Amin has a menacing quality mixed with latent charm. Why? The guy is huge. He makes Dr. Garrigan (McAvoy) a child, in every sense of the word.

For me, there is no other reason to watch this film than to see Forrest Whitaker's performance.

Dr. Garrigan likes women, especially native African women. Without giving away the plot, his little head gets him into trouble. Big trouble.

Kerry Washington, as always, was lovely in this film. She plays Amin's third wife, Kay.

By the way, this film is not a true story.

Educational tip (at least for me): Amin was a Muslim with many wives. I had heard about him, the number of people killed under his rule, and other horror stories. In 2003, after living in exile and comfort in Saudi Arabia, he passed away. Got that? Unlike the thousands of people he had slaughtered, this dictator died of old age.


Useless fan fact: As an ex-New Yorker, I've seen my share of the famous.

I saw Forrest Whitaker, many many years ago in Manhattan. There he was strolling down 9th Avenue, a big guy with no entourage. What I can recall, and liked the most about him, is that he did not wear a, 'You know who I am?' smirk on his face. Instead, he makes eye contact, and that's it. Nice.

Labels: Forrest Whitaker, Kerry Washington, The Last King of Scotland

posted by GoldenAh
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