Review of 'The Last King of Scotland'

One thing you'll learn about me, is that I like to review movies, TV shows, books, things like that. So I'll be doing a review of a movie called "The Last King of Scotland". I recently bought it and have yet to watch it. For this review I'll post what's going on as the movie goes along and give my final thoughts.

And the movie starts...

Movie starts in Scotland 1970. The main character (Nicholas) seems to have graduated from college. He lives at home and seems unhappy. He goes to his globe, says the first place you land on is where you go. He spins the globe, gets Canada, spins again, gets Uganda. And he's off to Uganda.

He explains to the people that he's a doctor and he wants to help the people there. He arrives in the town, where he meets Sarah (Gillian Anderson). She's the wife of another doctor, Dr. Merrit. It seems it is a busy time, they have a new president, General Idi Amin (Forest Whitalker).

Nicholas persuades Sarah into going to "see the new boss". They go to see the new president Amin. The locals seem to praise him like he's God. They think he's their savior. He really connects with them saying he's a "simple man". After Amin's speech, Sarah asks to leave, she seems quite uncomfortable. She explains in the car, that they cheered the same way for Obote, the last president "who turned their economy into a personal bank account".

The suddenly get called back, the president was hurt. He helps him with his hand, while the cow he hit is moaning behind him. Finally frustrated, Nicholas grabs Amin's gun and shoots it. Everyone is shocked, but Amin is impressed. He learns that he's Scottish, and asks to have is shirt, having Scotland's flag on it.

Later that night, Sarah and Nicholas discuss the incident and they seem to have chemistry. Sarah claims that nothing can happen, that her husband is a good man. They bond over having good men in their life and how it makes the feel "like shit". Nicholas bends down and kisses her, but Sarah runs off saying that she can't.

President Amin asks Nicholas over to his place. He asks him to be his personal physician. He politely declines saying he has obligations. He opens up to Nicholas, about his childhood. Nicholas changes his mind and takes the job. He calls Sarah to tell them he is taking the job, she seems disappointed.

While Nicholas works for the president, he also works at the local hospital. Amin pulls him in deeper to his work. Amin, while seems like a God on the outside, has something evil down inside. I'm beginning to really think that Sarah was right, he's just as dangerous as Obote, if not more.

Amin's actions are starting to seem like a dictator. People who speak out against the regime are disappearing. Nicholas doesn't believe at first, but then he realizes it's true. He becomes afraid and tries to leave. But now Amin won't let him. He says that he still has work to finish. It's scary, he brain washes people and blinds them with money and luxury.

Amin's youngest wife and Nicholas become lovers, and soon she is pregnant with his child. She will be killed if Amin found out, so she goes to get an abortion. When Nicholas finds her, he finds her dead body, killed by Amin's people. Nicholas boldly confronts Amin about his regime and secretly plots to kill him. Amin finds this out and reveals he knows about him and hims wife's affair. He plans to kill Nicholas, but Nicholas' medical colleague Dr. Junju saves him and sends him off to Britain to tell about Amin's regime and his horrible plans. The ending reveals that Amin's regime has killed many Ugandans and eventually died in exile.

Thoughts:Wow. Intense movie. It's funny how I stumbled upon this movie at this time. I sadly see a lot of similarities to different past and present governments. I don't want to get into a political discussion with anyone so I'll end that topic now. All in all, the movie was beautifully directed. There were a lot of odd shots that I loved. I'd be interested in reading the book. After reading up on this story, it seems that while the story is true, the character Nicholas is loosely based on an English man named Bob Astles. Now while the reason I got this movie was because Gillian Anderson was in it and she wasn't in it as much as I would have liked, it was a great movie and I like it a lot. I think it has a great story and can teach everyone something. Forest Whitalker.

Thanks for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed it and will now go rent this movie because it is amazing. And for the X-Files fans, Gillian Anderson is in it! So you have to see it!