Eases you into the horror

Rating: 9/10 (28 July 2008)

I put off seeing this film since I did not see how the horrors of the Amin regime in Uganda could make for anything but a depressing movie. But inserting the fictional Dr. Garrigan, a young naive doctor who wants to escape a domineering father and experience life, makes for an excellent plot device. Garrigan's decision to go to Uganda to help out at a local clinic provides an agreeable prologue where we get to see some of the Ugandan countryside and native culture, filmed in luscious color. Also, adding the doctor enlarges the moral dimensions as we follow his ethical challenges.
Early on we see Amin as being somewhat likable and charismatic. Falling under the spell of his power and prosperous lifestyle is very understandable, so when Dr. Garrigan (who through a couple of random events has helped Amin) is offered being Amin's personal physician, we see the appeal. The plot is cleverly structured - since we can identify with Garrigan we share his alarm, and ultimate desperation, as the scales fall from his eyes and he gradually becomes aware of just what Amin is up to.
Even though we are provided enough information to pass final judgment on Amin, he remains somewhat of an enigma. When he talks about setting up a fund for England and offering to send food for the staving English does he actually believe in that? When a quirky somewhat childlike character like Amin is given absolute power it is likely that ill consequences will result. It is only natural to want to eliminate one's detractors and, when Amin uses his dictatorial power to do so, it is not clear that it reflects a strain of evil at his core, but rather he does it because he can.
Several of the scenes in this movie are reenactments of actual scenes in the documentary "Général Idi Amin Dada: Autoportrait." That outstanding documentary is a great complement to this movie.
Then there is Forest Whitaker who gives the performance of a lifetime. He clearly studied the documentary mentioned above, since he perfectly captures the speech patterns and body movements of the real Idi Amin. James McAvoy is good, but believing that Amin would come to regard such an immature and inexperienced young man as his chief adviser was a bit of a stretch for me.