The Last King of Scotland

If you ever wondered what it would be like to experience the brutal unpredictability of Idi Amin’s Uganda up close and personal, The Last King of Scotland does not hold back. The film, directed by Kevin Macdonald, is set in 1970s Uganda and follows a young, fictional Scottish doctor who gets swept up in the orbit of Amin, played with nerve-shredding charisma by Forest Whitaker. The story is loosely inspired by real events, but make no mistake: this is not a comfortable history lesson. It's tense, sweaty, and at times hard to stomach, but that’s part of its power.

The main thing that still hits me about this film is Whitaker's performance. I'd seen him in other things before, but here he is genuinely terrifying and magnetic. He doesn’t play Amin as some cartoon villain. There are scenes where you kind of get why people were taken in by this guy. It’s a performance that oscillates between warmth and full-on sociopathic menace, sometimes in the same breath. It’s not just Oscar-worthy — it’s the kind of acting that makes you a little anxious, in a good way.

James McAvoy, meanwhile, plays Nicholas Garrigan, a wide-eyed Scot who impulsively decides to work as a doctor in Uganda. I have mixed feelings about his character. McAvoy does a solid job portraying privilege and naivete. The problem is, the movie almost leans too hard into his perspective, making it feel like the African story is seen mostly through Western eyes. That said, the tension between Garrigan’s idealism and the horror around him is gripping, especially when he slowly realizes what he’s gotten himself into.

Visually, the movie has this immersive, kinetic style. There’s a chaos to the way the camera moves, especially in the more dangerous moments — it can feel frantic and almost documentary-like. The colors are rich and the setting feels alive, which is kind of ironic, since much of what’s happening is about death and violence. It avoids the washed-out, sepia-toned look you often see in movies set in Africa. Instead, the vibrancy of the environment contrasts sharply with the darkness at the center of the story.

One thing that didn’t quite work for me is the pacing in the second act. The film starts strong and ramps up the tension quickly, but around the halfway mark it drags as it sets up Garrigan’s disillusionment. There’s a feeling of being stuck, which might be intentional, but it makes the movie feel a bit longer than it should. When it snaps back into high gear in the third act, the rush is so intense that I almost wished the earlier parts had carried the same energy.

Tonally, the movie is all over the place — again, I think some of this was a deliberate choice. There are moments that are almost absurd, not because the film is trying to be funny, but because the reality of Amin’s regime was so surreal and unpredictable. The film tries to capture that emotional whiplash. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it just feels uneven. Case in point: a party scene where everyone is caught up in euphoria, immediately followed by a gut punch of violence. It keeps you on edge, though it can also give you whiplash.

What I really appreciated was how the movie doesn’t shy away from the uglier sides of history. It’s unflinching and, at times, seriously unnerving. The violence, when it comes, is truly shocking. It never feels exploitative, but it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. The film does a good job walking the line between dramatization and respecting the dark reality of what happened, but there are moments, especially involving the fictional elements, where it feels a tiny bit Hollywood-ized.

Honestly, The Last King of Scotland is one of those history movies that’s hard to recommend wholeheartedly, just because it is so uncomfortable. But it’s also important. It gives you a sense of how absolute power can warp reality, and how quickly charm can turn into terror. If you’re in the mood for a sunny biopic, skip this one. But if you want a historical drama that actually rattles you, this is a must-watch. Forest Whitaker, I mean, wow.