The colonialist spirit is alive and well in The Last King of Scotland, a return to the pandering celluloid depictions of African turmoil that insist on putting a white face on black suffering.
5 Comments
09/28/06
The Last King of Scotland (2006)
87
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:176
Fresh:153
Rotten:23
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: 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.
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... [More]
Starring: James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker, Gillian Anderson, David Oyelowo
Director: Kevin MacDonald
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Reviews for The Last King of Scotland
Top CriticAn adequate thriller redeemed by Forest Whitaker's sensational turn as Idi Amin.
09/28/06
Top CriticThe Last King of Scotland is wrenching to sit through, but in the end, it doesn't leave you with quite enough to think about.
09/28/06
In a remarkably restrained piece of acting, Whitaker gives us a likable totalitarian madman whose bluster appears more amusing than terrifying.
09/28/06
The compression of time is a stiff reminder that we are watching, after all, a movie.
09/27/06
Forest Whitaker shatters abstraction and replaces it with flesh, blood and unspeakable charm.
09/27/06
Top CriticForest Whitaker's mesmerizing performance as Idi Amin drives Kevin Macdonald's adaptation of Giles Foden's 1998 novel about the dictator's reign of terror, which left Uganda's once-thriving economy in ruins and at least 300,000 of his countrymen dead.
09/27/06
Whitaker is formidably compelling as a man whose quixotic temperament and larger-than-life persona both fascinate and repel.
09/27/06
Featuring vivid supporting performances from Simon McBurney and Gillian Anderson, The Last King of Scotland is one of 2006's best films to date.
09/27/06
Forest Whitaker, uncorking the power that he usually holds in check, gives a chilling, bravura performance as Ugandan tyrant Idi Amin.
09/27/06
Top CriticThe movie's real power, and true greatness, comes from Whitaker. Whether or not it's forgotten at awards season, it's guaranteed to be remembered for a long time to come.
09/27/06
Top CriticThe Last King of Scotland is a parable shocking in its truth, jolting in its lack of sentimentality, Shakespearean in its vision of the doctor's catastrophic flaw.
09/27/06
Top Critic[Director Kevin Macdonald] captures the energy and exuberance of a young nation in the throes of optimism and works it into a foreboding frenzy.
09/27/06
Top CriticIt would all be for naught without Whitaker, who makes Amin fun, funny, vulnerable and poignant while never letting us forget his murderous monomania.
09/27/06
This is not hyperbole. This is how good Whitaker is: He actually makes you feel sorry for Idi Amin.
09/27/06
Top CriticA thunderous performance by Forest Whitaker as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin informs and ignites The Last King of Scotland so far beyond its limitations as both a biopic and a political thriller that he becomes the movie itself.
09/27/06
Top CriticI can't think of a better actor to toggle between media-savvy jester and stone-cold killer than Forest Whitaker, who, even dressed in a kilt, conveys serious menace along with mania.
09/27/06
Top CriticAs storytelling, it could use some fine tuning, but it keeps its dark premise close to its heart at all times.
09/27/06
Whitaker carries the film on his broad shoulders, creating a realistic and frightening portrait of one of the world's most elusive and notorious figures.
09/27/06
Featuring an extraordinary, Oscar-worthy performance by Forest Whitaker, this gripping drama interweaves historical fact with fiction into an edgy, eye-riveting tale.
09/27/06
Latest News for The Last King of Scotland
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June 25, 2008:
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December 06, 2007:
James McAvoy on Atonement: The RT Interview
Scottish actor James McAvoy has shot several films in the last few years (Becoming Jane, The Last King of Scotland, and the eagerly anticipated Wanted) but so far remains most... More...
November 14, 2007:
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