The follies of youth in a country desperate for stability

Rating: Null/10 (18 January 2007)

'The Last King' had me gripping my seat for all sorts of reasons. Nicholas, the young newly qualified doctor who spurns domestic practiser in Scotland for self fulfilment in another world meets cuddly psychotic demagogue with extraordinary results in a colourful and vibrant 1970's impoverished and confused Uganda. Forrest Whitaker just has what it takes, and the actual footage of Amin in the credits just highlighted the colossus this actor is in getting inside the dictator's skin. In blending affability and charm with paranoid instantaneous turning and brutality, I wanted to back into my cinema seat and hide.He deserves all the awards he will get.James MacAvoy is harder in some ways to fathom. He is full of youthful fun,sincerity and passion, but what naivety ! Having lived through those years with friends from Uganda, and remembering the unspeakable horror of hearing that Archbishop Janani Luwum had been killed for opposing Amin still fills me now with shivers. Yet here Kevin MacDonald portrays both characters with immense sensitivity and honesty. He does not spare the gore but won't dwell on it unnecessarily, either. He offers a taste of the environment, the beauty and the threat, rather like 'The Constant Gardener' with which I personally find myself comparing this film. This film is not about the past, it is about world politics today with all the cross-cultural tensions, and also about Africa,with a not dissimilar scenario only a stones throw from Uganda. In all he offers us a treat not to miss. It isn't comfortable, but it is gripping. You may like me, still be thinking hard about all you have witnessed the following morning !