by Kris Katz
Brief spoiler-free entertainment reviews

Sunday, June 3, 2007

The Last King of Scotland (2006)

A good movie wrapped around an astonishing performance by Forest Whitaker as Ugandan dictator Edi Amin. As much as the rest of the movie is excellent to watch, it's all completely blown out by Whitaker. Even poor Mr. Tumnus from Narnia, here moonlighting as a womanizing doctor, just can't keep his own. The film itself is a fascinating character study of a man many consider among the most evil of our time, portraying the brutality and also the idealism of Amin while adhering to the framework of a slow-burn thriller. It all works wonders to put you in a state of unease and uncertainty. Most everything here ranges from good to great, but it's Whitaker more than anything else that drives this movie.


8 out of 10.

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