That Amin and Garrigan should meet accidentally is the take-off point. The screenplay by Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock is rather simplistic with sharp black and white contrasts, no shades of grey, but director Kevin Macdonald makes the most of this situation by churning out a populist version of history. The movie is based on a novel by Giles Foden. On the contrary, over three lakh Ugandans were massacred during his regime. “This will be a government of action, new schools, new roads…in my heart I’m a simple man, like you, I am you,” he said to the people in his opening speech. The sequence in which the African women sing a Scottish song, “Banks of Loch Lomond” is much too much.Īs for Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker), history has put him down as one of the biggest dictators. Like quite a few Britishers, he was looking for sun, fun and may be lend a helping hand. That the doctor Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) should choose the country he worked in merely by twirling the globe and landing his finger on it only speaks of his naivety. That the young doctor came from that country further deepens their bond of friendship. What do you get then? Well The Last King of Scotland, so titled because the ruler is Idi Amin Dada and it reflects his fondness for that highland country. T ake two characters, one historical and the other fictional, one a charismatic but psychopathic ruler, the other an impetuous young doctor and weave a likely story, a mix of fact and fiction.
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