Review: The Last King of Scotland

UK release date: 12th January

Forest Whitaker delivers an electrifying career-best performance as 1970s Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in this powerful, true story-inspired thriller. Based on the novel by Giles Foden, the movie portrays the relationship between one of the 20th century’s most notorious despots and fictional Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy).

Switching effortlessly from eccentric charmer to brutal megalomaniac, Amin plunges his young protégé into an escalating nightmare after persuading him to become his personal physician. It’s a morally ambiguous turn that gives a daringly human face to Amin, but “Touching the Void” director Kevin Macdonald paints his entire picture in shades of grey, drawing on his documentary-making past to raise disturbing and deeply resonant questions about ethics and the corruption of the soul. Also, McAvoy’s naive yet self-centred Nicholas is not always sympathetically portrayed, which makes the horrific disintegration of his initially idyllic lifestyle all the more fascinating.

While some of the plot developments do stretch credibility, there’s a subtle tonal shift from vibrant excitement to claustrophobic terror that intensifies the overall emotional impact.

Radio Times rating:

****

UK cinema certificate 18
Running time 138mins

Review by Sloan Freer