Breathtaking Depiction of a Dazzling Man

Rating: 10/10 (8 February 2007)

What a stunning evocation of the time and place - Whittaker imbues his portrait of the darkly charismatic Amin with such humour and humanity that when the reality of his actions is exposed, it hits the audience as hard as the naive Dr Garrigan. James McAvoy is equally superlative.
Most of all, it is a scandal, if a predictable one, that neither the film nor the director were considered Oscar worthy - sure, everyone understands their PR-purpose for mainstream US cinema, and many of the nominees are fantastic - Little Miss Sunshine especially -, but Kevin MacDonald proves what a potent force he now is in world cinema - the colour, the pace, the music - all fantastic. Compare this film to Blood Diamond - there is laughably no contest in which has better acting, direction, and, most of all, which one is a film infused with Africa and its realities, rather than Edward Zwick's use of Sierra Leone as merely a random backdrop to his clichéd thriller intentions.
Go and see The Last King of Scotland and be stunned - but beware the shocking scenes at the end.