Whitaker pulls off a spectacular thespian coup that has Oscar-winner stamped all over it.
Comment
06/25/08
The Last King of Scotland (2006)
87 %
Reviews Counted: 175 Fresh: 153 Rotten:22 Average Rating: 7.3/10
Consensus:
Forest Whitaker's performance as real-life megalomaniac dictator Idi Amin powers this fictionalized political thriller, a blunt and brutal tale about power and corruption.
Rated: 15
Runtime: 2 hrs 3 mins
Theatrical Release: 12-01-2006
Synopsis: Forest Whitaker delivers a ferociously commanding performance as bloodthirsty Ugandan president Idi Amin in Kevin MacDonald's THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND. Adapted from the novel by Giles Foden, the film recounts Amin's horrific reign through the eyes of a fictional character, Nick... [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker, Gillian Anderson, David Oyelowo, Kerry Washington
Director: Kevin MacDonald
Screenwriter: Peter Morgan, Jeremy Brock
Producer: Andrea Calderwood, Lisa Bryer, Charles Steel
Composer: Alex Heffes
Screenwriter: Peter Morgan, Jeremy Brock
Producer: Andrea Calderwood, Lisa Bryer, Charles Steel
Composer: Alex Heffes
Reviews
Top Critic
A smart, searing thriller with blistering performances from McAvoy and Whitaker. Like the best Graham Greene script Graham Greene never wrote.
01/12/07
Whitaker's chilling, charismatic take on Uganda's General Idi Amin in The Last King Of Scotland stands up there with the great depictions of unhinged dictators like Antony Hopkins' Hitler in The Bunker or Christian Clavier in the 'Napoleon' mini-series.
01/12/07
Top Critic
Hard to believe that an actor previously renowned for his gentleness could play such a monster, but the transformation is seamless.
01/12/07
Top Critic
Whitaker commands his scenes as effectively as he did in Clint Eastwood's film about Charlie Parker.
01/12/07
Whitaker is mesmeric as the bombastic despot, perfectly capturing his oddly comic but ultimately brutalistic nature.
01/12/07
So often the gentle giant, Whitaker changes tack here with an intimidating display of girth and guile, mixed in with the outward signals of untouchable nuttiness.
01/12/07
Whitaker is astounding in this role, moving easily between the happy charm that made Amin champion of his people, and the madness that led this infamous dictator to kill almost half a million of them.
01/12/07
It seems certain Whitaker will get that Oscar nod for superbly conveying Amin’s weird mix of buffoonery and cold-bloodedness.
01/12/07
Whitaker fully captures the menace of the man who murdered more than 300,000 of his fellow citizens, but also - and this is the difficult part - his humour, charm and charisma.
01/12/07
This is a thoroughly enjoyable, confident, dramatically satisfying movie from Macdonald, and incidentally another triumph for Peter Morgan, for whom the period now seems to offer any amount of rich material.
01/12/07
Top Critic Top Critic
There’s a nihilistic and unmistakeable whiff of Apocalypse Now about the last wild reel, and the carnage left over by the Israeli raid on Entebbe airport.
01/12/07
Top Critic
Starting as a lively adventure, this film slowly twists into a haunting and unforgettable thriller, using real life events to tell a devastatingly powerful story.
01/10/07
Both an enthralling examination of a horrific time and an adrenalin-filled thriller full of wry humour.
01/04/07
Top Critic
Whitaker’s dedicated, nuanced performance is excellent and lifts the film from some unsteady early moments.
10/19/06
Top Critic
... if Whitaker doesn't get an Oscar nomination there is officially no justice.
10/19/06
Would Kanye West say that The Last King of Scotland doesn't care about black people?
04/05/08
Whitaker portrays Amin as funny, vulnerable, tender and enigmatic -- all without ever letting us forget he was a maniacal monster.
02/28/08
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06/22/07
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