movie review: the last king of scotland

But first, in honor of the first day of October, a quote from Anne of Green Gables:

"Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs. "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill - several thrills?"

On to the review. Before renting this movie on Netflix, I actually thought this movie might be set in Scotland. No, no, no....try Uganda. An Oscar-winning performance by Forest Whitaker plus James McAvoy was all I needed to know to be interested, never mind the story. And a story it is! In 1970, a young Scottish doctor (McAvoy) straight out of medical school decides to pack up and practice in Uganda, for an apparently much needed change of scenery. After being there for only a short time, he crosses paths with the newly elected Ugandan president, Idi Amin (Whitaker), who is soon impressed by Dr. Garrigan's ability to act fast in a crisis. Garrigan is invited to be Amin's personal physician, and he accepts. But what the doctor will soon discover is that the seemingly lovable president will resort to fatal measures in order to gain and sustain power and a good public image.

I can't say I wasn't disturbed after watching. Some of the images, one in particular, are too brutal to stomach. But this film was undeniably impressive and the story very intriguing. Garrigan and Amin's relationship is kind of mesmerizing, gradually evoking suspense throughout the film. Whitaker's performance really is deserving (he managed to be both vicious and hilarious) and McAvoy was perfect as the doctor, believably immature yet responsible. I also really enjoyed seeing 1970s Africa, from tribal villages to the president's beautiful mansion (he also has a White House!). And, the music was surprisingly really good, and definitely added to the exciting, adventurous environment that Garrigan gets to experience (in the first half of the movie, anyway). Once again, I learned a lot about another country that I didn't know before. Ida Amin was a dictator that ruled Uganda from 1970-1979, when he was finally overthrown, for good reason. Sadly, Nicholas Garrigan is a fictional character (I wanted his part to be true!) Overall, a good flick. Oh, but it also had like three of those unnecessary sex scenes that you will want to fast forward through, just so you know. Really not necessary.