The Last King of Scotland
Short description
The Last King of Scotland follows Nicholas Garrigan, a young Scottish doctor who leaves his training behind and travels to Uganda in search of adventure. When he arrives, he finds a country in political upheaval. General Idi Amin has seized power, and a chance encounter between the two men leads Amin to admire the doctor's calm and direct manner. He offers Garrigan a position as his personal physician, drawing him into the president's inner circle.
At first the young doctor is won over by Amin's charisma and generosity, and he becomes a trusted confidant rather than a mere medic. Over time he witnesses the brutal reality of Amin's rule, including abductions and killings. Garrigan comes to see himself as complicit in the violence and begins looking for a way out, though extricating himself from the regime proves difficult and dangerous.
Kevin Macdonald directed the film, his second of 13 features, between the documentary Touching the Void and the thriller State of Play. Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock wrote the screenplay, and the cast includes Forest Whitaker as Amin, James McAvoy as Garrigan, Gillian Anderson, Kerry Washington, Simon McBurney and David Oyelowo. Made for about 6 million dollars, it took roughly 48 million worldwide. It holds a 7.6 rating on IMDb from some 205,000 votes, a 7.4 on TMDB, and critics rated it 7.6 from 183 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- The protagonist of 'The Last King of Scotland' is a fictional character placed in the environment of real people and events.
- "The Last King of Scotland" is a nickname Amin gave himself.
- The black "Mercedes," the presidential limousine shown in the film, actually belonged to Amin.
- The film is based on a book by Giles Foden, who also played the British journalist present at Amin's press conference.
- The plane on which part of the hostages fly away at the end of the film is an "Antonov An-12BK".
- In the scene in the village where Amin delivers a speech, among the crowd you can spot a person dressed in a Boy Scout uniform with a Canadian flag on their chest.
- To obtain permission to film in Uganda, Kevin Macdonald met with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
- In preparation for his role as Idi Amin, Forest Whitaker gained over 20 kg (44 lbs) in weight.
- The film was given this title because in the 1970s, Amin declared himself King of Scotland.
- According to the film's director, Kevin Macdonald, while filming Idi Amin's (played by Forest Whitaker) arrival at a mission near a small village, the locals believed that Amin himself had actually arrived.
- In reality, Amin had several doctors from Great Britain, but none of them were Scottish. The character played by James McAvoy is based on Bob Astles (1924-2012), a British soldier and diplomat and one of Amin's confidants, who eventually lost the dictator's favor and even spent some time in a local prison notorious for its harsh and brutal treatment of inmates.
- At the very beginning of filming, for some unknown reason, Forest Whitaker suddenly lost his voice for a long time. When his voice returned, the actor continued to speak with his character's accent until the end of the production period, even when he was off set.
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