When this film was first making the rounds in 2006, all I heard about was how great Forest Whitaker was as the magnetic, menacing dictator Idi Amin. It’s a showy role, and Whitaker does a good job with it, so I can understand why that was. But all of the hype gave me the impression that this was Amin’s story. It’s not. The main character is actually a young Scottish doctor by the name of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) who travels to Uganda and unwittingly finds himself entangled in a brutal and horrific moment in human history, all because of a case of youthful restlessness. Whitaker has the big role, the one that grabs your attention more readily, but the weight of the film is on McAvoy’s shoulders. His is the more subtle, nuanced performance. His character is the one who changes over the course of the film and really anchors the story. McAvoy is amazing as Garrigan, and I’m beginning to understand why he’s been a name at the tips of the tongues of many film writers over the past few years. Had I seen this when it first came out, I probably would have been on the bandwagon as well. Come to Last King of Scotland for the Forest Whitaker, sure, but stay for the McAvoy.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Short Round: The Last King of Scotland (2006) ****/*****
When this film was first making the rounds in 2006, all I heard about was how great Forest Whitaker was as the magnetic, menacing dictator Idi Amin. It’s a showy role, and Whitaker does a good job with it, so I can understand why that was. But all of the hype gave me the impression that this was Amin’s story. It’s not. The main character is actually a young Scottish doctor by the name of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) who travels to Uganda and unwittingly finds himself entangled in a brutal and horrific moment in human history, all because of a case of youthful restlessness. Whitaker has the big role, the one that grabs your attention more readily, but the weight of the film is on McAvoy’s shoulders. His is the more subtle, nuanced performance. His character is the one who changes over the course of the film and really anchors the story. McAvoy is amazing as Garrigan, and I’m beginning to understand why he’s been a name at the tips of the tongues of many film writers over the past few years. Had I seen this when it first came out, I probably would have been on the bandwagon as well. Come to Last King of Scotland for the Forest Whitaker, sure, but stay for the McAvoy.
