'Last King of Scotland' is a fanciful take on a ruthless tyrant

The gripping and ironically titled Africa-is-hell movie, "The Last King of Scotland," traces the Caligula-like reign of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, who came to power in a 1970 military coup and, in less than a decade, managed to murder some 300,000 of his countrymen.

MOVIE REVIEW

THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

DIRECTOR: Kevin Macdonald

CAST: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington

RUNNING TIME: 123 minutes

RATING: R for some strong violence and gruesome images, sexual content and language

GRADE: B+

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The audience point of view on his gruesome story is Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young Scottish doctor who, in the film's opening scenes, abandons the practice of his country-doctor father and opts for the adventure of working in a Ugandan mission.

Arriving in Kampala in the middle of the coup, he soon finds himself called in to treat the new president's hand injury, and when it turns out that Amin (Forest Whitaker) is a fanatical devotee of all things Scottish, a friendship is struck.

In no time, Garrigan is named the dictator's personal physician, and then his most trusted adviser. Ultimately, he finds himself a major power in the country and, as Amin's administration turns progressively bloody, the tyrant's de facto accomplice in genocide.

As directed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Kevin Macdonald ("One Day in September"), the movie is an extraordinary personal adventure that views everything through the eyes of its hero as it carries him from one apocalyptic situation to another.

It's also a devastating morality tale that shows just how easy it is for a well-meaning outsider to become lost in a culture he doesn't understand, and to find himself seduced and corrupted by taking very small and seemingly reasonable steps.

As this flawed Dr. Livingston, McAvoy (the faun of "Chronicles of Narnia") is all clueless European arrogance -- his grisly comeuppance is very satisfying to watch -- and he's backed up by marvelous supporting work from Simon McBurney, Gillian Anderson and Kerry Washington.

Whitaker's Amin is a portrait of monstrous self-absorption. It's a broad, villainous role that begs to be overplayed, but he gives it so many small, human touches that the character comes off with a strange sympathy. It would seem a guaranteed Oscar nomination.

As good as the movie is in so many ways, I have one big caveat. Since Amin is a historical character and a dramatic title card tells us the movie is "Inspired by True Events," one sits through it assuming it to be a true story -- giving it that special credibility in the mind.

But as it turns out, only the background is true. The saga of the doctor and the dictator is pure fiction, the story is based on a novel, and, by withholding this crucial information from its opening credits and ad campaign, the movie is a wee bit of a cheat.

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