The Last King of Scotland

I read about the punishment Idi Amin carried out on his unfaithful wife in a second-hand book years ago. At the time I passed it off as a rumour - things like this are always exaggerated and there's no way anyone could be that cruel, that sick, that depraved - and with the 'inspired by true events' caption greeting us before the credits roll, it's still debatable that the incident happened. But director Kevin MacDonald ensures that the image will never leave our mind in The Last King Of Scotland, adapted from Giles Forden's novel. Young Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan (McAvoy) arrives in Uganda after graduation and is soon called to treat Ugandan president Idi Amin (Whitaker).Impressed, Amin makes Garrigan his personal physician, confidant and right-hand man. Initially enjoying the good life in the capital, Garrigan soon witnesses atrocities, kidnappings and brutal killings, but when he tries to leave he finds himself trapped. MacDonald presumes that the audience knows of Amin and his regime as he keeps most of the horror off-screen, concentrating on the dictator's sunnier side: Amin was a charismatic witty man with a childish, fun-loving sense of humour. But a foreboding atmosphere is ever present and that's down to Forest Whitaker. Whitaker couldn't have done more, veering from despotic to a big friendly teddy bear, sometimes even in the same scene, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats throughout - when exactly is he going to flip out? Exuding a remarkable screen presence, we can't keep our eyes off him; and Whitaker makes it worthwhile throughout as he does or says something in every scene that enthrals us, deliberately keeping our judgement of him at bay until the last possible moment. We don't know what to make of McAvoy either. His Garrigan is not a likeable character: flawed, he seduces married women and refuses to see the horror of his friend's brutal regime. However, it's because of, and despite of this, that Garrigan feels like a real person, and the film is all the better for it.