Forest nails it

Rating: 8/10 (9 August 2007)

**possible spoilers**
A curious film, which takes us into Idi Amin's Uganda, through the eyes of a fictionalised character, a Scottish doctor who becomes the tyrant's personal physician. Dr Garrigan is supposedly an amalgamation of several real people who surrounded the Amin regime of the 1970s, but it definitely feels like a dramatic device to enable the film to do business in the West. The film follows the young graduate as he takes a break from his stifling father and heads off to do some charitable work in Africa. What transpires is scarcely believable, and should leave you in no doubt that this man did not really exist. Some of the plot scenes seem so contrived, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is the director's first feature. It is. Enough said. However, despite the problems with the narrative, this movie is all about one man. Mr Amin. If his portrayal had been anything less than brilliant, this movie would be just another thriller. It isn't. Forest whitaker delivers a truly great performance...Charisma, humour, menace, madness, all rolled into one giant bear of a man. it's a frighteningly effective piece of acting, and i suppose a fitting way to nail the part of a dictator...by dictating the entire film. The story of Dr Garrigan fails to convince you that he is anything other than a window into the world of Idi Amin, but once you get a look through that window, it's a phenomenal feat of acting.