The Last King of Scotland (2006)

Director:

Kevin Macdonald

Writers:

Peter Morgan (screenplay) and
Jeremy Brock (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 January 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Thriller

Tagline:

Charming. Magnetic. Murderous.

Plot:

Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s

Plot Keywords:

Uganda | 1970s | Doctor | Death | Dictator

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 34 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Forest Whitaker	...	Idi Amin
James McAvoy	...	Dr. Nicholas Garrigan
Kerry Washington	...	Kay Amin
Gillian Anderson	...	Sarah Merrit
Simon McBurney	...	Stone
David Oyelowo	...	Dr. Junju
Stephen Rwangyezi	...	Jonah Wasswa
Abby Mukiibi Nkaaga	...	Masanga (as Abby Mukiibi)
Adam Kotz	...	Dr. Merrit
Sam Okelo	...	Bonny
Sarah Nagayi	...	Tolu
Chris Wilson	...	Perkins
Dr. Dick Stockley	...	Times Journalist
Barbara Rafferty	...	Mrs. Garrigan
David Ashton	...	Dr. Garrigan (senior)

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong violence and gruesome images, sexual content and language.

Runtime:

121 min | USA:123 min | Canada:121 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French | German | Swahili

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:M18 | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | UK:15 | South Africa:16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Australia:MA | France:-12 | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:16 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Malaysia:18PL (DVD) | Spain:13 | Japan:R-15 | Brazil:16

Filming Locations:

Kampala, Uganda

Company:

DNA Films

Trivia:

The movie was based on the book by Giles Foden, who also cameos as a British Journalist at the press conference held by Amin.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the scene where the President and the Doctor travel to Entebbe airport in the soft-top Mercedes and are ambushed - two white Bedford trucks block them to the front and the rear. The trucks are AWD Bedford's with a silver AWD logo mounted on the front. AWD took over Bedford trucks only in 1989 some 10-years after Amin was removed from Uganda (in 1979)

Quotes:

[first lines]
Nicholas Garrigan: Come on! Are youse ready?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Kay's Lament

Forrest Whitaker alone is worth the price of admission

How can an actor terrify you without saying a word, without even hardly moving his face or body? I'm not sure how he does it, but Mr. Whitaker does it over and over again in this movie. And then he turns around the next minute and becomes giant hug-able teddy bear superhero. Forget all the others, this is the best horror film of the year. This movie, and his performance in particular, grab hold of you and never let go. Whitaker should win an Oscar for best actor, I've never seen a better performance in my life. Also notable is the Nicholas Garrigan character who is written and acted very skilfully to draw the (non-African) spectator into the world of Uganda and Amin. The way his character willingly "falls into" Amin's web of charisma somehow goes a long way toward mitigating the racist potential of a story about a very troubled (African black) man. The way the interplay of the two lead character's cultural backgrounds plays out on screen moves the story beyond just their personalities and into the realm of incisive socio-political analysis and critique. This movie is quite incredible, really.