Excellent performance from Whitaker but many flaws otherwise

Rating: 7/10 (22 October 2006)

The reason to see this film is for Forest Whitaker's performance as the brutal, insane Idi Aminhe brings a nuance to the role that demonstrates how he has grown as an actor and what we can expect of him in the future. But as to the rest of the film, I personally found it flawed. Not enough of the history of this period is covered, which would truly show us what a monster Amin was. There are mentions of genocide but they come late in the film. The big problem is that the character of Nicholas Garrigan is essentially unsympathetic. The main reason to tell a story from an alternate POV is because the main character (Amin) lacks sympathy. But we have little to root for with Garrigan. He is a naive opportunist who quickly turns his back on his original goal when the wife of his boss turns down his advances. He doesn't even attempt to use any of his influence once he becomes Amin's right hand man to help the struggling mission. And to sleep with Amin's wife is on par with the teenagers going out into the woods where the maniac is waiting with a chainsaw. Garrigan not only puts himself at risk--he condemns the woman to a hideous death. He takes an awfully long time to assess what's going on in Uganda and then his only motivation is to save himself. We are supposed to think he somehow redeems himself when he doesn't cry out during the torture sceneanother improbability. The film itself could have benefited from some editing to contrast the chaotic, under lit tone. It felt as if we had one hectic scene after another, with frequently mumbled dialog (between a Scotsman and an African no less!) shot in low light with a soundtrack that, although interesting at first, grew overbearing, and felt inserted.