The Last King of Scotland (2006)
Runtime: 2 hrs 3 mins
Theatrical Release: Sep 27, 2006 Limited
Box Office: $17,449,410
Synopsis: Forest Whitaker delivers a ferociously commanding performance as bloodthirsty Ugandan president Idi Amin in Kevin MacDonald's THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND. Adapted from the novel by Giles Foden, the film recounts Amin's horrific reign through the eyes of a fictional character, Nick... Forest Whitaker delivers a ferociously commanding performance as bloodthirsty Ugandan president Idi Amin in Kevin MacDonald's THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND. Adapted from the novel by Giles Foden, the film recounts Amin's horrific reign through the eyes of a fictional character, Nick Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young doctor from Scotland who travels to Uganda hoping to do some good. Nick is more sanguine about new president Amin than is his counterpart Sarah Merrit (Gillian Armstrong), whose experience causes her to be skeptical of Amin's bombastic declarations. After an automobile accident, Nick is called in to treat the president's wounds. His authoritative behavior impresses Amin, who charms Nick into becoming his personal physician. Nick embraces his newfound life of luxury, but he is unable to grasp the reality of the situation. When he does finally realize the atrocities Amin is inflicting upon his people (and is also capable of inflicting on Nick), the terrified doctor tries to make a frantic escape before it's too late. MacDonald, director of the acclaimed documentaries ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER and TOUCHING THE VOID, makes a startlingly assured transition into fictional filmmaking with THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND. Working with cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (THE CELEBRATION) and editor Justine Wright, MacDonald brings 1970s Uganda to pulsating life, perfectly recreating that tumultuous era. But ultimately the film belongs to Whitaker: as he shifts from charming to maniacal in the space of a short, unexpected breath, he infuses Amin with startling humanity. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker, Gillian Anderson, David Oyelowo, Kerry Washington
Screenwriter: Peter Morgan, Jeremy Brock
Producer: Andrea Calderwood, Lisa Bryer, Charles Steel
Composer: Alex Heffes
DVD Info
Release:
Jan 22, 2008
DVD Features:
- Keep Case
- Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
- Dolby Digital Surround - French, Spanish
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
- Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentaries - Kevin Macdonald - Director
- Alternate Scenes - Deleted Scenes (w/ Optional Commentary)
- Behind the Scenes - "Fox Movie Channel Presents: Casting Session: THE LAST Documentaries - 1. "Capturing Idi Amin"
- 2. Forest Whitaker Featurette
- KING OF SCOTLAND"
- Trailers - 1. Theatrical Trailer
- 2. International Trailer
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
Whitaker pulls off a spectacular thespian coup that has Oscar-winner stamped all over it.
Would Kanye West say that The Last King of Scotland doesn't care about black people?
Whitaker portrays Amin as funny, vulnerable, tender and enigmatic -- all without ever letting us forget he was a maniacal monster.
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it's Whitaker that kept the film alive when everyone was handing him Best Actor statuettes
...Whitaker's superb work remains the highlight of an otherwise routine effort.
It's a deconstruction of Idi Amin's persona, played with such dedication by Whitaker the surrounding narrative feels without purpose.
There is surprise in Whitaker's step, with a curtain of menace running beneath it. His is one of the fiercest, least predictable performances of 2006, so fully on edge that he becomes the movie's edge.
Whitaker brings us close to Amin, yet he never allows us to actually become comfortable around the man. His Amin is capricious and unpredictable, a personality that can seem volcanic one moment and vulnerable a few minutes later.
La película vale la pena sobre todo por la imponente actuación de Forest Whitaker, igualmente encantador o amenazante en la piel de uno de los dictadores más sanguinarios de África.
Two terrific performances cap this interesting historical perspective on ruthless dictator Idi Amin.
Whitaker’s incendiary and incandescent performance dominates this movie as much as Helen Mirren’s performance defines The Queen.
Exalando um carisma mais do que apropriado ao personagem, [Forest Whitaker] busca seduzir não apenas Nicholas, mas também o espectador.
Having cut his teeth on documentaries, Kevin Macdonald acts as if a shaky-cam aesthetic alone is enough to fuel dramatic tension.
Whitaker's riveting and deserved Oscar-nominated performance pretty much dominates -- almost to the point of overpowering -- this fictionalized drama, based on Giles Foden's novel.
The horror, when it finally moves to the centre of the screen, gives us Amin's barbarity in close-up -- and he's still smiling.
Whitaker's riveting performance as the unraveling Amin is where this film wants to be; instead we're stuck with Garrigan's Jesus Christ pose, and the expected out that amounts to little more than, "Forget it, Nick. It's Africa."
Whitaker is electrifying (I hate it when critics use that word, but seriously, it applies), but the film itself is merely agur for his performance.
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