October 21, 2006
The Last King Of Scotland
Forrest Whitaker's Oscar-worthy performance lifts and otherwise average thriller
Starring: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy
Rating: 6/10
Directed By: Kevin Macdonald
Runtime: 123 minutes
Starring: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy
Rating: 6/10
Directed By: Kevin Macdonald
Runtime: 123 minutes
There is nothing more frustrating then when a great performance finds its way into an average film. Such is the case with Forest Whitaker's portrayal of legendary Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. In the film, Whittaker is able to embody the mad ruler with a genius that surpasses mere mimicry and finds its place along the great performances of our time. The film, however, is a different story. Unlike last year's brilliant Downfall (which attempted to put a human face on one of history's greatest madmen, Adolf Hitler), The Last King Of Scotland doesn't respect its audience enough to believe that they could be entertained with the story of the Ugandan people and their lives under the rule of a crazed mass murderer. The film instead relies on a tired political thriller structure that requires a Scottish doctor (played by James McAvoy in a role almost as annoying as his Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia) to be a willing (and then unwilling) participant in the new dictator's regime. By the time the good doctor is forced to plan a daring escape amidst a Palestinian hostage crisis, the film has gambled away all credibility and reduced the film to nothing more than the new Jack Ryan movie.
In addition to the ridiculous thriller elements, the film also utilizes a popular tool in Hollywood's attempts to portray "black" issues -the white protagonist as hero. It's a trend featured prominently in films like Mississippi Burning and Hurricane that takes fascinating stories and removes the true heroes and replaces them, in turn, with idealistic white protagonists. Whereas a better filmmaker would have taken the story of the Ugandan people (or maybe even Amin, himself) and focused on the tyranny that followed Amin's rise to power, Macdonald and his writing team of Jeremy Brock (screenplay) and Giles Fodden (book) instead choose to have all of the action revolve around McAvoy's far less interesting Nicholas Garrigan.
The film is not a total wash, though, and worth seeing for a glimpse at what could very well be the Academy Award winner for Best Actor this year. Whittaker performs a difficult act in taking one of history's most notorious monsters and making him vicious, funny and, even, human.
In addition to the ridiculous thriller elements, the film also utilizes a popular tool in Hollywood's attempts to portray "black" issues -the white protagonist as hero. It's a trend featured prominently in films like Mississippi Burning and Hurricane that takes fascinating stories and removes the true heroes and replaces them, in turn, with idealistic white protagonists. Whereas a better filmmaker would have taken the story of the Ugandan people (or maybe even Amin, himself) and focused on the tyranny that followed Amin's rise to power, Macdonald and his writing team of Jeremy Brock (screenplay) and Giles Fodden (book) instead choose to have all of the action revolve around McAvoy's far less interesting Nicholas Garrigan.
The film is not a total wash, though, and worth seeing for a glimpse at what could very well be the Academy Award winner for Best Actor this year. Whittaker performs a difficult act in taking one of history's most notorious monsters and making him vicious, funny and, even, human.