Young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan decides it's time for an adventure after he finishes his formal education, so he decides to try his luck in Uganda, and arrives during the downfall of President Obote. General Idi Amin comes to power and asks Garrigan to become his personal doctor.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.6/10
IMDb: 7.6/10
Letterboxd: 3.70/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 87%
Metacritic: 74
TMDB: 7.4/10
Director
Kevin Macdonald
Production
Fox Searchlight Pictures, Cowboy Films, DNA Films, Scottish Screen, UK Film Council, Film4 Productions
Cast
Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Simon McBurney, Gillian Anderson, Kerry Washington, David Oyelowo, Abby Mukiibi Nkaaga, Adam Kotz, Barbara Rafferty, David Ashton, Sarah Nagayi, Stephen Rwangyezi, Sam Okelo, Dick Stockley, Chris Wilson, Daniel Ssettaba, Giles Foden, Andrew Williams, Martina Amati, Devon Diep
Curator Review
Verdict
A gripping, performance-driven political thriller anchored by Forest Whitaker’s towering Idi Amin, even if the film’s white-centering and thriller mechanics are ethically and dramatically messy. It’s worth watching for the acting, tension, and historical volatility, but not as a fully satisfying or balanced account of Uganda’s history.
Best for
viewers who prioritize powerhouse acting
political drama fans
historical thrillers with moral ambiguity
audiences interested in postcolonial power dynamics
Skip if
you want a strictly Ugandan-centered perspective
you’re sensitive to white-savior framing
you dislike biographical films that simplify history into thriller beats
you prefer subtle, low-key dramas over intense, volatile ones
Overview
The Last King of Scotland is one of those films that lives or dies on a central performance, and Forest Whitaker makes the case for it in a big way. His Idi Amin is magnetic, funny, terrifying, and unstable in a way that keeps the film alive even when the script leans too hard on familiar thriller structure.
Worth noting
The movie is also hard to separate from its perspective problem. It tells a story about Uganda’s terror through the eyes of a fictional Scottish doctor, and that choice can feel reductive, even exploitative, depending on your tolerance for the frame. The result is a film that is often compelling in the moment but frustrating in the larger shape of what it chooses to emphasize.
Bottom line
If you come for the acting and the political unease, there is a lot to admire here. If you want a more historically centered, less compromised account of Amin’s regime, this will likely leave you wanting something deeper and more accountable.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Imogen (4★) · 1030 likes
Bet he wished he picked Canada.
Matthew Christman (2★) · 841 likes
The consensus view of this one is: Forest Whitaker is awesome, the rest of the movie is mediocre. I disagree. Forest Whitaker is awesome, and the rest of the movie is infuriating, awful horseshit. The propensity of films about Africa to end up starring white people is a long-time annoyance to me, and this movie is the absolute most egregious case I've ever seen. The reign of Idi Amin is just not compelling on its own merits, it only gains… more The consensus view of this one is: Forest Whitaker is awesome, the rest of the movie is mediocre. I disagree. Forest Whitaker is awesome, and the rest of the movie is infuriating, awful horseshit. The propensity of films about Africa to end up starring white people is a long-time annoyance to me, and this movie is the absolute most egregious case I've ever seen. The reign of Idi Amin is just not compelling on its own merits, it only gains… more
Sam (3★) · 516 likes
Forest Whitaker’s HUGE fart was 100% the best part of the movie
Max (2.5★) · 450 likes
Would probably be more interesting if it was actually about Idi Amin and not a made up Scottish doctor
{Todd} (4★) · 346 likes
"Did you think this was all a game? 'I will go to Africa and I will play the white man with the natives.' Is that what you thought? We are not a game, Nicholas. We are real." -Idi Amin,
Fantastic.
Forest Whitaker gives one of the best performances in the history of acting and I am not speaking in hyperbole, I literally think it's one of the best performances I have ever seen in a movie. He manages to make… more
1989 · Drama, Thriller · 1h 47m · R · Curator 5.6/10 (11.4K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A moral drama about systems of oppression and the cost of witnessing injustice.