The Last King Of Scotland Review

Charisma. Ruthlessness. Madness. Forest 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 'Napolean' mini-series. It's a powerhouse performance from a lazy-eyed, rotund actor normally relegated to playing cuddly roles. Capturing the central conundrum of Amin - his enticing charm and genocidal violence - Whitaker pulls off a spectacular thespian coup that has Oscar-winner stamped all over it.

He bounds onto the screen like a grizzly bear on Prozac, a bundle of capricious energy who seduces and amuses us. Then the killing starts. The Scotland-loving dictator slowly reveals his true nature as a power-crazed king who feeds his victims to crocodiles, operates in a demented paranoid fantasy world and eventually murders 300,000 of his own countrymen. It's a terrifying portrait of evil incarnate.

Whitaker's performance alone would be enough to recommend The Last King Of Scotland as an early contender for one of the films of 2007. But there is more. Director Kevin MacDonald (better known for his terrific documentaries Touching The Void and One Day In September) has crafted a first-rate thriller from Giles Foden's best-selling novel, a movie that has much to say about the morality of international politics while never being anything less than breathlessly gripping entertainment.