The Last King Of Scotland cuts like a machete

[George Bellefontaine]

Forest Whitaker stars as the sometimes affable, but always dangerous Idi Amin Dada. The film deals with the start and end of his brutal reign over Ugandans. James McAvoy stars as the young doctor ( Garrigan) who goes to Africa to help the people but ends up being Amin's personal physician and doing them more harm than good by keeping Amin alive and well. What happens to this young Scottish doctor, who becomes just a little too close to a madman, is both fascinating and frightening. And believe me, Whitaker deserved the Oscar for this.

:5:

I rarely give 5 stars but this one really deserves it. It will leave you thinking for a long time.

[WillyD]

I saw this a little while back and I also though it was a great film. Whitaker was amazing, of course. And for me, this movie was really a horror film, and that is intended as a compliment. This movie frightened me more than any other "horror" film I can remember seeing.

:4:

[wkhanna]

It is next in line on my Netfix queue.

[Danbry39]

This is one I really want to see. The positive review by George only cements the deal.

[DSGCobra]

^^ me too. I was waiting for a next gen format of this movie but that doesn't seem to be happening. Will have to pick up the DVD this week.

[Chris D]

Finally watched this one. I find real stories like this very interesting. Does anyone know HOW real the story was? i.e. is the story true about the doctor as well, and everything that he did for/with Amin?

I remember reading a book about the raid at Entebbe when I was a kid. Matter of fact, I think that was the title of the book. I didn't remember it being in Uganda, nor that it was tied to Amin.

One post on Netflix said something very poignant about movies like this and "Hotel Rwanda": May we mercifully run out of fodder for these kind of movies.

Good movie.

[Ovation]

The doctor is a fictional character and the story is truer in spirit than in fact to the reality of Idi Amin and his reign of terror. Whittaker gives an excellent portrayal of Amin and I would use the film in the classroom if the occasion arose, but not without some careful preparation ahead of time for the students.

An excellent film that does what the best films dealing with real-life topics--it recreates a mood that is evocative of the period and events it portrays. Those who judge films based on historical events harshly for not hewing to "accuracy" often miss the point of the exercise. Historical feature films should not be a replacement for more traditional forms of historical presentation--they should be supplements that play to the strengths of the medium. In that context, this film does a fine job.