The Last King of Scotland (2006)
Average Rating: 7.3/10
Reviews Counted: 181
Fresh: 157 | Rotten: 24
Forest Whitaker's performance as real-life megalomaniac dictator Idi Amin powers this fictionalized political thriller, a blunt and brutal tale about power and corruption.
Average Rating: 7.3/10
Critic Reviews: 46
Fresh: 40 | Rotten: 6
Forest Whitaker's performance as real-life megalomaniac dictator Idi Amin powers this fictionalized political thriller, a blunt and brutal tale about power and corruption.
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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 234,156
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Movie Info
Director Kevin MacDonald teams with screenwriter Jeremy Brock to adapt Giles Foden's novel detailing the brutal reign of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin as seen through the eyes of his personal physician. James McAvoy stars as the doctor who slowly realizes that he is trapped in an inescapable nightmare, and Forest Whitaker assumes the role of the notorious despot. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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Cast
-
Forest Whitaker
Idi Amin -
James McAvoy
Nicholas Garrigan -
Kerry Washington
Kay Amin -
Gillian Anderson
Sarah Merrit -
Simon McBurney
Stone -
David Oyelowo
Dr. Junju -
Stephen Rwangyezi
Jonah Wasswa -
Abby Mukiibi Nkaaga
Masanga -
Adam Kotz
Dr. Merrit -
Sam Okello
Bonny -
Sarah Nagayi
Tolu -
Chris Wilson
Perkins -
Dr. Dick Stockley
Times Journalist -
Barbara Rafferty
Mrs. Garrigan -
David Ashton
Dr. Garrigan (Senior) -
Daniel Ssettaba
Kay Amin's Servant -
Apollo Okwenje Omamo
Mackenzie Amin -
Louis Asea
Campbell Amin -
Giles Foden
British Journalist 1 -
Andy Williams
British Journalist 2 -
Martina Amati
Italian Journalist -
Rene Peissker
German Journalist -
Stern Jedidian
American Journalist -
Dave A. Tarun
Asian Tailor -
Clare Wandera
Secretary -
-
Joanitta B. Wandera
Malyamu Amin -
Consodyne Buzabo
Nora Amin -
Peter Salmon
White Businessman -
Michael Wawuyo
Air Force Commander -
Wilberforce Mutete
Guard -
Haruna Walusimbi
Guard -
Muhammed Kaweesa
Idi's Double -
Grace Mugenyi
Idi's Double -
John Bosco Obiya
Idi's Double -
John Olima
Bagpiper -
Angela Kalule
Chanteuse at Nightclub -
Sam Namatiti
Bass/Keyboards -
Mathias Muwonge
African Xylophone/Lyre -
Joseph Kahirimbanyi
Guitar -
Afrigo Band
Band at Party -
Ndere Troupe
Dancers at Rally -
The Nyonza Singers
Choir at Parliament
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The Last King of Scotland Trailer & Photos
All Critics (185) | Top Critics (47) | Fresh (165) | Rotten (24) | DVD (30)
Having cut his teeth on documentaries, Kevin Macdonald acts as if a shaky-cam aesthetic alone is enough to fuel dramatic tension.
Top CriticMr. Whitaker and Mr. McAvoy head a first-rate cast that helps The Last King of Scotland to illuminate one of the many dark chapters in recent African history.
If this genius turn by Whitaker (he starred in Bird and The Crying Game) doesn't earn an Oscar nomination, then those little statues will lose what little meaning they have.
Whitaker's dedicated, nuanced performance is excellent and lifts the film from some unsteady early moments.
See the movie for Whitaker alone: He's possessed by evil and possesses it wholly, rendering the film (and everyone in it) his plaything.
A good movie elevated by Whitaker's pitch-perfect performance.
Captivating hyper-realism, a taut political thriller, and the performance of the year.
The Last King Of Scotland will no doubt be picking up an armful of gongs come award season, and rightly so; it's not only lovingly shot and acted, but it evolves into one of the best thrillers of recent memory too.
Pit stop for white liberal guilt and neocolonial pillaging
This isn't just a moral cause movie for New Yorker-reading smartypants to brag to their friends that they saw to show how in-the-know they are. The Last King of Scotland deserves every good thing that has been said about it, and then some.
Brutal look at the consequences of absolute power.
Whitaker pulls off a spectacular thespian coup that has Oscar-winner stamped all over it.
Its ultimate effect is that of shallow self-congratulation.
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.
... the film belongs to Forest Whitaker, whose fierce and ferocious performance as Amin earned him the well-deserved Oscar for Best Actor this year.
Audience Reviews for The Last King of Scotland
Super Reviewer
-
- Idi Amin: Look at you. Is there one thing you have done that is good? Did you think this was all a game? 'I will go to Africa and I will play the white man with the natives.' Is that what you thought? We are not a game, Nicholas. We are real. This room here, it is real. I think your death will be the first real thing that has happened to you.
-
- Idi Amin: I am the father of this nation, Nicholas. And you have most... grossly... offended your father.
-
- Idi Amin: [to crowd at rally] I know who you are and what you are. I am you!
-
- Idi Amin: I want you to tell me what to do.
- Nicholas Garrigan: You want ME to tell YOU what to do?
- Idi Amin: Yes, you are my advisor. You are the only one I can trust in here. You should have told me not to throw the Asians out, in the first place.
- Nicholas Garrigan: I DID!
- Idi Amin: But you did not persuade me, Nicholas. You did not persuade me!
-
- Dr. Junju: Tell the world the truth about Amin. They will believe you, you're a white man.
-
- Idi Amin: They take you to a tree and hang you by your skin. Each time you scream the evil comes out of you. Sometimes, it can take three days for your evil to be spent. Pull him up.
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Foreign Titles
- Der letzte König von Schottland - In den Fängen der Macht (DE)
- Le Dernier roi d'Ecosse (FR)
With brilliant aid from lenser Anthony Dod Mantle and composer Alex Heffes, Macdonald creates a feeling of brooding unease when the Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan gets more and more tangled in the sadistic empire run by monstrous dictator Idi Amin.
Acting is top notch all around, especially James McAvoy shines as a doctor who is the complex antihero of the story. He nearly deserves what he gets, but somehow he still manages to gain empathy for his character. It is a performance even much more richer than Forest Whitaker's psychologically complex Idi Amin.
Final 15-minutes into this film are truly edge of your seat suspense at it's gripping best and shows how brilliantly Macdonald is capable to build the tension. Rarely do films get more exciting than here.
Last King of Scotland is a work of art and powerful thriller at the same time. It is one those rare films that i have watched many times, and still everytime i am equally excited and edge of my seat.