Simon Dillon reviews the film

The most extraordinary thing about director Kevin MacDonald's The Last King of Scotland is Forest Whitaker's astounding performance as Idi Amin. At once charismatic, charming, brutal yet oddly vulnerable, he is one of the best screen villains for a long time. Amin is shown to be the murdering bully that he was, whilst at the same time his unpredictable, almost schizophrenic personality keeps the audience permanently on edge. Whittaker chews the scenery to within an inch of its life, and I confidently predict his best actor Oscar is as good as won.

It is all the more remarkable, given Whitaker's commanding performance, that James McAvory more than holds his own in the complex supporting role of recently graduated Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan. In 1970, Garrigan travels to Uganda apparently through a desire to be a good man in Africa, but it is immediately apparent that he is an immoral youth, and the true reason for his visit is experience for experience's sake.

Take for example his penchant for married women. It is clear from the beginning that this will contribute to his downfall when he tries to seduce the wife of the doctor in the Mission hospital where he works (Gillian Anderson in a small but effective role). Garrigan's attitude to adultery is "its fun", and he thinks nothing of the consequences. Shortly afterwards, he enters into a Faustian deal to become Amin's personal physician at the dawn of his Presidency, thus leaving behind the Mission hospital he had previously committed himself to helping making it clear he is a man with little honour or loyalty.

Garrigan's unlikely but compelling relationship with Amin provides the core of the fascinating drama. Amin is impressed by Garrigan speaking his mind, and slowly he becomes much more than a physician, advising him on political matters, how to handle the press and even informing on potential traitors in his cabinet. At the same time, he turns something of a blind eye to reports of massacres, and warnings from British foreign office officials in Kampala. Eventually however, when Garrigan decides he wants to leave the country, his passport is taken and he is told by Amin that he cannot leave. Aware of Garrigan's dubious behaviour, the British foreign office refuses to help him get out unless he assassinates Amin. Incidentally, the British (or more accurately the English) do not come off well at all in this film, since it is clear that they supported Amin's coup, yet when they realise they have made a mistake they try to recruit Garrigan to do their dirty work.

The second half of the film is much tougher, as Garrigan undertakes a disastrous affair with one of Amin's wives, and the full horror of Amin's regime becomes apparent. There are two particularly gruesome, wince-inducing sequences that will prove a tough watch for the faint of heart. In addition to violence, it's only fair to also point out the presence of strong swearing, sex scenes and nudity. Whether or not they are contextually justified could be argued either way. I feel that perhaps a little more restraint could have been employed, but on the whole, there is nothing exploitative. Certainly the horrendous consequences of Garrigan's affair with Amin's wife are not glossed over, and morally the film exposes both Garrigan's folly and Amin's egomaniacal, murderous dictatorship in a mercilessly unsentimental manner. From a Christian perspective, there are interesting allegories that can be read into it regarding the wages of sin and - late in the film - how the most unworthy person can be saved.

In final analysis, Kevin MacDonald has crafted a first-rate political thriller. His background in documentaries (Touching the Void and the excellent, Oscar winning One Day in September) no doubt contributed to his vivid, gritty portrayal of 1970's Uganda. In adapting Giles Foden's novel, Jeremy Brock provides a riveting screenplay, skilfully weaving his fictitious incidents around factual events. But it is Forest Whitaker's performance that remains the film's crowning glory. His sudden mood swings, charismatic speeches, practical jokes, childish tantrums, and violent outbursts and make it impossible to tear your eyes away from the screen.