The Last King of Scotland: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''I am the father of this nation, Nicholas. And you have most... grossly... offended your father...''|'''Idi Amin'''}}

 

 

The movie starts with the protoganist, Nicholas Garrigan, who rebels against his father by leaving to work as a doctor in Uganda. While working in a missionary hospital in Uganda and being hot for the married Sarah Meritt, [[Casanova]] Garrigan meets Idi Amin, a charismatic general who is so impressed with him that he appoints him to become his personal doctor. Soon Idi Amin descends from ([[Villain with Good Publicity|seemingly]]) being an [[Anti-Hero]] and [[Affably Evil]] to a [[Bad Boss]], [[The Caligula]] and a [[Complete Monster]]. Nicholas Garrigan plays the role of a [[Wide-Eyed Idealist]], first by overlooking a lot of Amin's bloodthirsty antics by convincing himself that it is necessary to bring peace to Uganda, and believing that things would get better as Amin's enemies are eliminated. Unsurprisingly, he is wrong. It does not help that he falls in love with Amin's youngest and discarded wife Kay, which soon leads him in a confrontation.

 

* [[Adult Fear]]: Nicholas' situation. Imagine if you were friends with someone who's the leader of a nation and then they are being accused of being a dictator. Naturally you defend them, but what would you do when the accusations turn out to be ''facts'' and you watch your friend become unstable to the point where he'll kill anyone who does something he doesn't like, including you yourself?

* [[Affably Evil]]: Idi Amin. [[Truth in Television]] as the real Amin was quite charming despite being every bit the [[The Caligula|unstable tyrant]] he's depicted as in the film.

* [[Properly Paranoid]]: Definitely averted by Amin, but played straight with Nicholas, who tries to find a way to get out of Uganda without being seen by Amin's men, who were ordered by Amin himself to prevent this.

* [[Psychopathic Manchild]]: Idi Amin.

* [[Shout-Out]]: To [[King Lear]] - 'nothing comes from nothing'

* [[Sidelong Glance Biopic]]

** Not to mention completely ignoring that Amin was committing bald-faced atrocities on his own people, in lieu of accepting Amin's explanation that cracking down on Obote's remaining supporters will bring a lasting peace to the country and that the guy was utterly insane (Though to be fair, Amin's [[Affably Evil]] nature did a good job masking his insanity up until the middle of the movie).

* [[The Unfavorite]]: Kay, the youngest of Amin's three wives who was exiled by Amin because she gave birth to an epileptic son.

* [[Utopia Justifies the Means]]: Nicholas initially thinks that Amin, while harsh at times, is necessary in order to make Uganda a great country.

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: Well, to say [[Villainous Breakdown]] would imply that he was stable at one point, but Amin still counts.

* [[Villain with Good Publicity]]: Amin again.

[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]

[[Category:The Last King of Scotland]]