"The Last King Of Scotland" Is The First Film You Want To See Next

Asserts NebraskaStatePaper.com: "How a successful drama could be made of Amin’s reign as a Ugandan dictator, a period that stands with the bloodiest of the modern world’s horrors, might puzzle anyone. It was nonetheless accomplished, mostly via an Academy Award-worthy performance by Forest Whitaker, in The Last King of Scotland.....Director Kevin MacDonald, an accomplished documentarian, brought Amin to life – from ascension to dementia – through an adaptation of the novel by Giles Foden.

Actually, MacDonald brought him to the screen; it was Whitaker who brought him to life in a performance that earned him a Golden Globe as best actor. Released last September, the film has enjoyed international buzz and mostly rave reviews – although criticized for 'turning conventional' at the end. When Whitaker sits there as Amin, doing that full-body laugh that makes him shake like pudding from his oversized waist to his expansive shoulders, he simultaneously captures just a bit of the infamous, insane glint in Amin’s eyes.

It isn’t hard to believe that this was the guy who – during just ten years – tortured and massacred millions of his countrymen. Amin was an accomplished soldier, a big fellow with wide interests (particularly a ridiculous fascination with Scotland, in case you hadn’t guessed) before he became a nightmare that stunned the world with his brutal dictatorship, and descent into madness. Some have criticized MacDonald's approach to the story, insofar as it is an African story, told through the eyes of a white guy - a doctor who is preposterously and arrogantly naive - who becomes Amin's personal physician. The fact is that the overwhelming majority of films - Hollywood, independent or otherwise - aren't worth seeing. This one is."