Whitaker's Amin had 'Oscar' written over his face...

Rating: 9/10 (15 May 2007)

"The Last King of Scotland" is definitely one of the best movies based on real events ever. Though the film is not entirely fact-based... it's told from a fictional character's point of view, but the audience, particularly those who were around in the time of Idi Amin's regime can breathe realism in its every minute.
The introduction of the storyteller, a young Dr. Nicholas Garrigan, was important to create subjective angles. Yet the character is not at all as inert as one would seem. He is perhaps the leading character in the film, not Idi Amin. And Garrigan's character is wonderfully designed... with his initial careless nature, his sexual (mis)adventures, his later concerns and helplessness etc. James McAvoy does a fantastic job playing this role. The essence of the character is beautifully captured by him.
But everybody knows if there's one reason to see this film that'd be Forest Whitaker's performance as the infamous dictator. Whitaker captures the character's brutality, insanity and his weaknesses in their most minute details. Whitaker seems to know what it takes to be a dictator. His work had 'Oscar' written over it.