Barely been on here for a YEAR! Sorry If I've not been able to respond to anything. Hope you are all...
Barely been on here for a YEAR! Sorry If I've not been able to respond to anything. Hope you are all doing very well x
Member since:24.05.2007
Reviews:51
Members who trust:25
One of the most misleading film/book titles ever in my opinion!
So what is the film about? Is it any good? -------------------------------------------------------
This is the tale of how the films protagonist Dr Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) is taken under the wing of Ugandan president, Idi Amin (Forrest Whitaker). Amin just so happens to be a brutal dictator with a bit of a problem with trusting people.
Garrigan had just finished university and felt like he was trapped into following on in exactly the same manner as his father, being a doctor in Scotland. He decided he needed to make a clean break and therefore flew out to Uganda for serving both the purposes of being great help to the health of the locals and also to gain some sense of adventure.
On a chance meeting, Amin expresses his somewhat bizarre love of Scotland to Garrigan and so begins a working relationship that quite frankly nobody around Uganda can understand. Garrigan is placed as personal physician to Amin, later to gain promotion to his 'closest personal advisor'.
In his paranoia, Amin seems to be executing more and more people in Uganda and things seem to be increasing in danger for Garrigan but he is completely blinded by pure indulgence and decadence.
In his naivety Garrigan betrays Amin by impregnating his wife and then must concoct a plan of how he can manage to hide this act. He is stuck in a complete nightmare of a situation and just wants to leave the country and go home, but Amin is not somebody you can just walk out on!
A simmering tension is maintained throughout the second half of the film when things start to turn for the worst for Garrigan. This is in complete contrast to the jovial adventureous feel to the opening parts of the film when everything is new and exciting.
You can see why Forest Whitaker won an Oscar for his performance as Amin because he completely embodies the character of this very personable and charming man that has a brutal and frankly vicious streak. James McAvoy is also superb as Garrigan because he has a real rogueish nature about him which compliments his youthful exuberence.
Despite its historical inaccuracy, The Last King of Scotland really delivers in terms of being compelling viewing because it has likeable characters (yes, even Amin to a certain degree), creates a good level of tension, is well scripted and has excellent performances by its main stars (McAvoy and Whitaker). McAvoy has come a long way since being on the cast of channel 4 show, Shameless.
I would recommend this film to anybody that likes a good story, with powerful performances and is able to ignore the fact that this relationship between the two main characters never actually existed despite the films claims to be based on a true story.
Where can I get this from and for how much? -------------------------------------------------------------
The film can be purchased from play.com for the price of £5.99 and I would consider this to be fantastic value considering that it is a relatively recent film and is cracking entertainment.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 2000 - Drama - Director: Giuseppe Tornatore - Original Language: Italian - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana
As the evil Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Forest Whitaker gives an unforgettable performance ... more
inThe Last King of Scotland. Powerfully illustrating the terrible truth that absolute power corrupts absolutely, this fictionalised chronicle of Amin's rise and f...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
As the evil Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Forest Whitaker gives an unforgettable performance ... more
inThe Last King of Scotland. Powerfully illustrating the terrible truth that absolute power corrupts absolutely, this fictionalised chronicle of Amin's rise and f...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
A Scottish doctor on a Ugandan medical mission becomes irreversibly entangled with one of ... more
the world's most barbaric figures: Idi Amin. Impressed by Dr. Garrigan's brazen attitude in a moment of crisis the newly self-appointed Ugandan President Amin ha...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
As Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Forest Whitaker gives one of the great performances of ... more
modern movie history (The Wall Street Journal), one that the Associated Press calls nothing short of OSCAR worthy. This is Amin's incredible story as seen through the ...
Advantages: An amazing central performance from Whitaker, strong direction, characterisation and writing. Disadvantages: Some characters are clear plot devices.
![The Last King Of Scotland [DVD] [2006]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78087226.jpg "The Last King Of Scotland [DVD] [2006]")
Jun 19th, 2008
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