"The Last King of Scotland"

Directed by: Kevin Macdonald Starring: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson and Simon McBurney MPAA rating: R (for adult language, some nudity, brief intense violence) Running time: 111 minutes Best suited for: political-thriller junkies, film lovers in general Least suited for: the faint of heart "The Last King of Scotland" is easily the best film I've seen this year. It's the story of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young Scottish doctor who decides to escape a cloying family life by traveling to Africa to practice medicine. The Africa he chooses (he spins a globe and points a finger) is Uganda, and General Idi Amin has just overthrown the Oboti government, much to the thrill of the Ugandan population.

Based on historical knowledge of the ruthless Idi Amin's regime, "The Last King" is nonetheless the fictive account of the young Scotsman's relationship with Amin. By happenstance, Garrigan is nearby when an auto accident injures the new president.

Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) is only slightly hurt, but he seems taken by the young doctor's brash style. Amin is also taken by Garrigan's nationality, the dictator having an odd fetish for all things Scottish, cultivated by his hatred of the English. Amin begins to woo Garrigan as his personal physician.

Garrigan, who's worked only briefly in Ugandan rural villages, appears immediately infatuated with Amin's charm and grandeur, with his palaces and limousines. When Amin tells Garrigan he can help millions by building new hospitals and dictating national health policies, the young doctor is swayed. He reluctantly agrees to become Amin's personal physician.

While the story is McAvoy's as young doctor Garrigan, the film is utterly, totally Whitaker's. In this Oscar-deserving performance, Whitaker seems to so completely, so remarkably inhabit the dictator that five minutes into his performance I'd forgotten Whitaker on screen. Amin's subtle charms, his charismatic, seemingly good intentions lure both Garrigan and the audience.

Forget for a moment who Amin really was-a genocidal butcher- and you might think you'd stumbled upon the ideal pair to cure Uganda's many woes. Even knowing Amin's future, you can't help but like the man's superficial bravado, his delusions of building a perfect Uganda.

Amin's insanity is revealed gradually, in confusing fits and starts, to the provincial Garrigan. A young and randy Scotsman, Garrigan seems as interested in wooing beautiful women (including a stunning Gillian Anderson as a rural British doctor) as he does in saving lives. Amin is gracious to his newfound friend and adviser, supplying Garrigan with women, expensive gifts and lavish parties. His head dizzied by wealth and power, too late does Garrigan finally see the demons that emerge from the president.

As Amin's insanity begins to percolate, so does the film's tension, continually notched upward by a series of events that neither man foresees. Indeed, the film's last half is incredibly paced, the befuddled Garrigan falling steadfastly out of favor with Amin. Yet when he asks the dictator for permission to return to Scotland, Amin denies the request.

Garrigan is trapped in Uganda.

In the tradition of very good films like "The Constant Gardener" and "Hotel Rwanda," "The Last King of Scotland" depicts both the best and the worst of the complex African continent. The film begins with lavish and expansive joy before gradually, claustrophobically shrinking around Garrigan as his options of escape recede.

Few films of late have captivated me the way "The Last King" has; this is a stunning piece of filmmaking with a solid cast (McAvoy is quite good in his role), although it is Whitaker who snatches your breath, then dares to squeeze it from

your soul. He is a splendid monster. This one's a keeper.