The Last King of Scotland

Saw a free screening via an ad in The New York Times.

Probably not something I would have originally chosen to see, but I'm very glad that I did!

This movie was "inspired by" actual events, and is not a documentary, but a fictionalized account.

The Last King of Scotland is set in the 70s, from the point of view of young Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan. Rather than go into practice with his father, he spins the globe and points blindly, ending up in Uganda just after Idi Amin comes to power. This is the story of Garrigan's relationship with Amin, and his experiences in Uganda.

At first, he works in the mission hospital, but comes to the attention of Amin after Amin is injured (slightly) in a car accident. Amin trades his general shirt for Nicholas' Scotland football shirt, and eventually offers him the job of personal physician. Things seem to go very well for him. Life is luxurious, and Nicholas is given housing and a really nice car.

Throughout the movie, Amin becomes more and more unstable, treating Nicholas as both his closest advisor but ignoring his advice when it goes against his desires. Slowly, Nicholas learns of Amin's excesses and brutality and when he attempts to leave, his passport is stolen and replaced with a Ugandan passport. The end scenes, which involves the hijacking of Air France Airbus flight 139 by the PLO, are frightening in the extreme.

Nicholas walks a very fine line, and MacAvoy does an excellent job, as does Whitaker. I hope both get Oscar nominations for their performances.There is a great deal of nudity, sex, violence, and scenes of torture and mass murder, so be warned ahead of time. This was not an easy film to watch, but I think is worth it.I do wish that the timeline had been clearer, as apparently six years pass, but the audience doesn't really get a sense of the passage of time.

There is Oscar buzz about Whitaker's performance, which I must say scared me silly.

Rating: If this is your type of movie, pay full price. If not, rent with friends and have a really good conversation afterwards.

(I tried not to spoil, but if anyone can tell me how to hide things in Blogger, I would appreciate it! Can't figure it out!)