The Last King of Scotland (2006)

Directed by Kevin MacDonald and based on the book by Giles Foden

by Mona Csada

The Last King of Scotland, based on a novel by Giles Foden, interweaves fact and fiction in portraying the life of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) from the perspective of a young Scottish doctor who becomes Amin’s personal physician and close advisor. Enamored by the luxury and privilege of the palace lifestyle, as well as the flattery and trust bestowed upon him by the charismatic Scot-loving dictator, young Nicholas at first seems blissfully unaware of the horrors happening around him at Amin’s hand. He brushes off allegations put forth by a British diplomat, chalking them up to prejudice and old-fashioned colonialism. Nicholas apparently believes he is taking a more righteous path in supporting this “man of the people”, however eccentric he may be. It’s not until he plays an unwitting role in one of Amin’s acts of cruelty that his eyes begin to open to the dictator’s brutality, volatility, and questionable sanity. By then, it’s too late for him to extricate himself from the situation, and his attempt to do so is met with anger and suspicion by Amin. This leaves Nicholas in an extremely exposed and dangerous position, where betrayal will be met with a steep price.

The blind naiveté of the young doctor unfortunately comes off as rather unbelievable, making it difficult for the viewer to sympathize with his predicament. There is also some inconsistency in director Kevin MacDonald’s demands of the audience’s knowledge. He seems to assume we know little about the atrocities committed by Amin’s regime (and thus identify with the young doctor’s hapless journey), but much about the 1976 Air France hijacking crisis that played out at Uganda’s Entebbe airport. The lack of context around these latter real-life political events makes the crucial final scenes of the movie confusing and disjointed for those whose memories of the incident might not be completely whole.

However, Whittaker’s stellar performance, the visual appeal of the film, and the importance of the story more than compensate for these flaws. Whittaker moves between all of Amin’s legendary moods with deft skill, from paranoid and insecure to charming and generous to violently cruel and tyrannical. The cinematographer effectively employs a gritty technique to capture the beauty and turmoil of Uganda during its early years of independence after 70 years of colonial rule. For those with constitutions strong enough to make it through some of the grislier scenes, The Last King of Scotland is a worthwhile eye-opening look at a painful chapter in Uganda’s history and the dangers of unchecked power.

Originally published in The Habari Times, Volume 3, Number 4

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