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THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

18-01-2007

For Britons of a certain age Idi Amin was a curious mixture of hate figure and comic icon. The Ugandan despot was a mass murderer who expelled tens of thousands of his country's Asian population, yet in the dark days of pre-punk Britain he was also good for a tabloid larf. Natural material for a movie then.

We see Amin (an astonishing likeness by Forrest Whittaker) through the naïve eyes of Garravan (Shameless star James MacAvoy) a Scottish doctor whose adventurous spirit leads him to become, by a quirk of fate, the dictator's physician.

Both men share a simple, child-like quality - but whereas Garravan is merely an innocent abroad, Amin is a spoilt brat, always liable to throw his toys out of his pram or order the execution of a political opponent.

What makes this little slice of history so entertaining is the growing sense of jeopardy that surrounds the doctor; the more he recognises the tyrant's wickedness the less safe he becomes, until his desire to leave becomes as great as his fear for his life.

It's really the acting which shines though - Whittaker and MacAvoy are superb, and there's a superb supporting cast (Gillian Anderson ace as always). Throw in a wonderful early 70s Afro soundtrack, and some good old British class war, and you're onto a winner. Recommended.

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