Rating of
3/4
"The Last King Of Scotland" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 01/09/12
Based on the experiences of a young Scottish doctor who becomes the unlikely confidante of brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, this film is quite even-handed in it's representation of the two main characters. Whitaker was fully deserving of his Oscar and McAvoy looking for the world like a young Ewan McGregor, it's easy to see how a young hedonist who sees Africa as an adventure playground of life experience would fall for the personal charm and charisma of Amin, while completely insulated from the atrocities he was committing in the outside world. I would have liked to have seen more of the context in which the story was situated, as the audience sees only glimpses of Amin's crimes as Garrigan does so the film does not have the weight it could have. As such it's a very well made and entertaining personal story, but it lacks the real punch of something like The Killing Fields.
