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 The Last King of Scotland 

What grade would you give this film?
A 35%  35%  [ 6 ]
B 47%  47%  [ 8 ]
C 12%  12%  [ 2 ]
D 6%  6%  [ 1 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 17

 The Last King of Scotland 
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Post The Last King of Scotland
The Last King of Scotland

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The Last King of Scotland is a 2006 British drama film based on Giles Foden's novel of the same name, adapted by screenwriters Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock, and directed by Kevin Macdonald. The film was a co-production between companies from the United Kingdom and the United States, including Fox Searchlight Pictures and Film4.

The Last King of Scotland tells the fictional story of Dr. Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young Scottish doctor who travels to Uganda and becomes the personal physician to the dictator Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker). The film is based on factual events of Amin's rule and the title comes from a reporter in a press conference who wishes to verify whether Amin declared himself the King of Scotland. Amin was known to invent and adopt fancy imperial titles for himself.

The Last King of Scotland received wide critical acclaim. Particular focus went to Whitaker, who received outstanding critical acclaim for his performance as dictator Idi Amin in the film. He won the Best Leading Actor award at the Academy Awards among others, and the film was also a financial success.


Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:30 am
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I recently saw this on an international flight...not great conditions but I'm glad I saw it and plan on rewatching it under better conditions.

I'll start with Forest Whitaker's performance. It's Oscar-worthy (duh!) - both brutal and charismatic at the same time. There are moments when you are drawn to him and fear him in the same scene. Even though I haven't seen Venus, it's going to be a shame if Whitaker loses just to give O'Toole a make-up Oscar.

And then there's James MacAvoy. I don't know why he hasn't received more awards attention. His solid performance really makes this work. Gillian Anderson has a memorable role which is basically a glorified cameo and Kerry Washington is good as one of Amin's wives. Why she isn't a bigger star I don't understand.

It gets an A from me.


Sat Jan 20, 2007 4:06 am
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Good film with a great performance from Whitaker that ultimately feels a bit shallow. I just didn't really think it enlightened much. It was also not exactly what I would consider entertaining or moving. Take those out and what exactly is the point in seeing it? To see Whitaker's great performance? I guess.

B- (would be a C if not for Whitaker's performance)...

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Sat Jan 20, 2007 7:42 pm
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A good film, full of excellent, excellent, excellent performances. I always knew of Whitaker as a side actor, but he really put in blockbuster performance.

A -


Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:43 pm
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Now here's a strange animal...

A cool story, a cool telling of the story, and a really poor direction of the movie of the story. The crazy close-ups of various details of Forest Whitaker et. al., were a serious detraction from the flow. In the same way, the narrative zoomed in and out of various details in a most disconcerting way.

Sure, Whitaker is good, though I think he slipped into a bit of an overdependence on the whole eye thing. As for Mr. Tumnus as "the doctor" -- well I never really bought that performance. And then there's Gillian Anderson?!? And the weird dude who looks like Roman Polanski...

I can easily see another Idi Amin biopic, and I would even welcome back Forest in the role, but the next time they just gotta hire a decent director. (I'd also love to see a coda/sequel to Amin's story exploring his retirement in Saudi Arabia (of all places).

2 out of 5.


Wed Jan 24, 2007 2:52 am
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Jeff wrote:
Good film with a great performance from Whitaker that ultimately feels a bit shallow. I just didn't really think it enlightened much. It was also not exactly what I would consider entertaining or moving. Take those out and what exactly is the point in seeing it? To see Whitaker's great performance? I guess.

B- (would be a C if not for Whitaker's performance)...


Pretty much sums up my views as well. Whitaker is excellent, everything else bleh.

B-

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Sun Feb 04, 2007 3:30 pm
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Jeff wrote:
Good film with a great performance from Whitaker that ultimately feels a bit shallow. I just didn't really think it enlightened much. It was also not exactly what I would consider entertaining or moving. Take those out and what exactly is the point in seeing it? To see Whitaker's great performance? I guess.

B- (would be a C if not for Whitaker's performance)...


Yeah. I mean, Whitaker, for what's written for him, plays the role to perfection.

But in retrospect, the whole representation does seem a bit shallow. The whole charm/menace dynamic is really the deepest the film delves into his psyche. His motivations for his acts later on in the film are very surface, and I found that surprising for all the attention Whitaker's getting.

And like I said, if I were to nominate him for something, it'd be supporting. It's a supporting performance, no question. James McAvoy honestly has at least twice as much screentime as him.

The film itself I thought was nicely done. Great pacing. Great atmosphere. Loved the final moments. It's just a tough subject to tackle, though, and I never really connected completely.

I'd give it a solid B.


Sat Feb 10, 2007 4:14 pm
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It's decent, but really only survives because of Whitaker's incredible performance. The film really drags whenever he's not in it, which is a substantial amount for a leading role. I'd agree that it's much more of a supporting performance, but it could have won the Oscar in either category. James McAvoy just really pales in comparison, but he's actually not that bad - just not noteworthy. The story jumps around a lot and doesn't really seem to do justice to what was going on in the country - too much attention is paid to the doctor's sexual exploits. The climax is kind of sudden and as a result the film ends on a down note. Still, the script is well-written and Whitaker really does carry the film, but it's not that great of a film because of it.

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Mon Apr 30, 2007 6:28 pm
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Really Really Really enjoyed this film. Acting wasy top notch for both Whitaker and McAvoy. Whitaker should have been nominated for best supporting and McAvoy for best actor but that's just me.

B+


Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:46 pm
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The Hell?!.... i thought this was going to be the typical Oscar boring movie...Its damn awesome :happy:

Whitaker veru well deserved Oscar!

A


Tue May 08, 2007 9:34 pm
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B

Didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped to, but it was decent fare. As many have said, Forest Whitaker was the one thing that really stood out about it. It actually reminded me a bit of Capote last year where the film was pretty much carried by one terrific performance. Now was Whitaker worthy of a win? Not really..there were better turns last year (DiCaprio in Departed, Cohen in Borat...), but it was certainly well fit for a nom. I must admit that I was actually very annoyed and unimpressed by McAvoy's quite stupid main character. He ruined some of the enjoyment for me.

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Mon May 21, 2007 6:22 pm
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A good film that is lifted by Whitaker's performance. He wasn't the best lead actor last year (In fact, I would probably rank him 3rd or 4th), but he was great here nonetheless. James McAvoy was also decent.

B+


Sun May 27, 2007 1:17 am
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THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND - 9/10 (A)

Wow! What a major surprise. I never expected to enjoy it this much. It was easily one of the most disturbing and intense films I've seen in quite a while. Forest Whitaker was absolutely phenomenal - and was honestly terrifying in the role of Idi Amin, delivering one of the most chilling performances seen on film since Hannibal Lecter was introduced in The Silence Of The Lambs. What makes this role all the more haunting though is that it is based on a real person. I can understand completely why he won the Oscar for this film. James McAvoy was also great here, and I really liked his character. I thought that he was very believable and also held his own against Forest Whitaker. Kerry Washington was phenomenal, delivering a great supporting performance. I felt so awful for her character. Anyways, as I said before, I never expected this to be as intense as it was. The final thirty minutes really had me on the edge of my seat throughout, and there were many moments where I was taken aback by the brutality. Anyways, I highly recommend this one! It was so, so good and one of the biggest surprises of 2006 for me. Those who enjoyed films such as Hotel Rwanda or Blood Diamond will likely enjoy it the most.


Tue Jun 05, 2007 12:23 am
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thompsoncory wrote:
Those who enjoyed films such as Hotel Rwanda or Blood Diamond will likely enjoy it the most.

Other than being dramas set on the same continent, I fail to see the connection...


Tue Jun 05, 2007 5:11 am
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thompsoncory wrote:
Those who enjoyed films such as Hotel Rwanda or Blood Diamond will likely enjoy it the most.


Those two were better...

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Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:10 am
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James McAvoy did a great job I thought. Froest... It's always hard to judge the Best Actor winner after the fact, but whatever, yeah he was great. Supporting cast in general was all pretty solid.

Did a bit of research after the fact on the historical accuracy of this film, kind of disappointed that the real story is far more interesting. Did they need to make up events in the airport scene to make it sound more dramatic? It's dramatic without the skin hanging.

And I agree with bradley that it bears little resemblence to H Rwanda and B Diamond. This is essentially an American mobster movie set in a historical African setting.


Thu Jul 19, 2007 4:02 am
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Post Re: The Last King of Scotland
B-

I thought it was a flawed film elevated by MacAvoy and Whitaker. It definitley doesn't feel as authentic as it should've been... I'm stealing this from filmspotting, but the film seems more interested in using the Amin era as a backdrop for "Escape from Uganda", than making a movie actually documenting that time period.

The subplots with the blonde doctor and Amin's wife don't really work. The "I can't do this. My husband is a good man" kind of stuff was pretty blech and predictable.

Forest Whitaker did a pretty great job overall, but I do think the movie being a lot weaker than Hoffman and Foxx's kind of hurts his work. Amin is mostly a rah rah evil guy, half his lines can be summed up by "act loud and mean". Truman and Ray are given much more range and things to do and are more memorable and fleshed out characters. To be honest, I think Dicaprio deserved the Oscar for one of his two performances last year.

Overall it's pretty well made, the direction and look of the film was more unique than I was expecting. Kevin Macdonald could be a name to remember if State of Play is an awards juggarnaut next year.

Definitley not "great" though, or really close.

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Sun Dec 02, 2007 4:34 am
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Post Re: The Last King of Scotland
I think i watched something different, i couldn't take my eyes away from it. Loved it.

Whitaker really is astounding in this role, from terrifying to charismatic in the blink of an eye just incredible. McAvoy backed him up well, i almost liked him as an actor here, which is quite an achievement. Yes the strange close-ups and random direction as mentioned before bugged me a little, but that didn't take away any of the power for me.

Excellent find, A-

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Tue Dec 23, 2008 11:36 am
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