The Last King of Scotland (2006)

Scotland 1970. The sky is cloudy and stark grey and a group of newly graduated students jump into the lake to celebrate. Newly minted doctor Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) is having dinner with his mother (Barbara Rafferty) and father (David Ashton), also a doctor. It is a drab affair and the father assumes Nicholas will join the family practice. We are left with an impression that Nicholas's father is a controlling man.In his room, Nicholas spins a globe promising himself "first place you land you go first place you land you go." Shutting his eyes, he jabs the spinning globe. Opening his eyes he sees that his finger has landed on Canada. Thinking about it for a moment or two, he spins the globe again and this time his finger lands on Uganda.Credits roll as we are in Uganda. It is bright, sunny, lush, and full of activities and life. Nicholas is riding the bus and becomes friendly with a young woman . A line of military vehicles and tanks pass the bus on their way to a military coup to overthrow president Obote. Nicholas is completely clueless and the young woman assures Nicholas they are safe and it will be a great time for Uganda now that Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) will be president. Nicholas and the young woman have sex in her home.Nicholas arrives at his destination and meets Sarah (Gillian Anderson), the pretty wife of Dr. Merrit (Adam Kotz) whom he will be working for in a rural clinic. Merrit is a dedicated doctor, a "good man" who frequently leaves his wife and Nicholas alone in the clinic while he attends emergency cases several miles away. Nicholas offers to accompany Merrit or attend to an emergency case himself but Merrit dismissively tells him to stay at the clinic. Nicholas is disappointed with his latest 'father figure'. Sarah has a world-weariness about her.Though 80% of the villagers prefer their witch doctors, Nicholas still has his hands full with treatments and inoculations. While playing soccer with the village children, he hears that Amin will be giving a speech nearby and convinces Sarah to attend the rally with him. The two really stand out in the rally as they are the only white people there. Listening to Amin orating to a crowd of Ugandans, Nicholas is deeply impressed and enjoys the high spiritedness around him. Amin promises a reign of peace, prosperity, public health care and other visionary advancements. Nicholas sees Amin as the rest of the world first sees him; a charismatic and entertaining figure who was greeted with enthusiasm by his people and who seemed to have their interests at heart.Driving back to the clinic Sarah cynically said the Ugandans gave the same party to Obote before throwing him out. Nicholas thinks Sarah should give the man a chance to do his job before criticizing him. They are interrupted by terrified soldiers begging them to come treat Amin who has been in an accident. The scared soldier is our first clue of Amin's true character.The presidential motorcade has collided with a cow and Amin is sure that his hand is broken. Nicholas quickly determines that the injury is just a sprain and works to bandage Amin's hand. Unable to concentrate on his bandaging on account of the dying cow's incessant bellowing, Nicholas impulsively grabs a pistol sitting on the car and shoots the cow, putting it out of its misery. With 10 machine guns immediately trained on him, Nicholas stammers an apology and returns the gun to a menacing Amin who demands to know if Nicholas is British. Nicholas clarifies that he is Scottish and shows his emblem tee shirt under his first shirt. Amin's behavior immediately does a 180 degree turn and praises the Scottish culture and people, especially their historical warriors. Nicholas is confused but charmed by this man who seems to take a genuine interest in him. Amin asks for Nicholas's tee shirt for his son, Campbell and the two men exchange shirts. Amin's military shirt sits like an oversize coat on Nicholas.Later that night Nicholas invites Sarah for drinks on the porch. Knowing full well of Nicholas's intention, Sarah confides that as a wife of a "good man" she is often unnoticed and undervalued. Nicholas is empathetic as his own father is a "good man". Nicholas kisses her; Sarah quickly comes to her senses and leaves Nicholas alone. The next day the Ugandan Health Minister, who is Amin's #1 adviser, arrives to bring Nicholas to Amin in the presidential limousine. Thinking that the hypochondriac Amin just wants him to re-tie the bandages, Nicholas promises Sarah that he will return soon and is whisked away to the bustling capital, an active modern city and a far cry from the dilapidated village Nicholas is working in.Nicholas meets Amin and is taken back by the offer to be his personal physician. In an example where Amin's craziness seems benign at first he tells Nicholas that he has already dreamed the date of his own death. "I know exactly when I'm going to die so you do not need to worry about making a mistake". Nicholas turns down the job offer twice and Amin guesses that Nicholas has an infatuation with a married woman back in the village. He promises to take Nicholas back to the village first thing in the morning but first he must attend tonight's state dinner. Since Nicholas does not have a suit Amin sends him to a tailor.Measured for a suit by Asian tailors (they are either Indian or Pakistanis), Nicholas worries about the cost and the tailor assures him it is covered by the president's account. Overhearing this is a British diplomat, Stone. Outside the tailor shop Nicholas hears a commotion and sees a man being chased by Amin's men, who catch the man and stuff him into the trunk of their car. Amin's men are hunting down suspected Obote supporters. Stone praises Amin's "firm hand" - after all, he trained among Scottish soldiers with the King's African Rifles. Stone says Amin is one of their own.The state dinner is a lavish affair and Nicholas is introduced to Amin's wives. Wife #1 has given Amin 5 children and wife #2 has given Amin 3 children. The third wife is simply introduced as Kay. Kay tersely thanks Nicholas for the tee shirt for her son Campell, it is her way of saying she has given Amin a child as well. Amin makes a rousing speech starting with stories of Greeks stealing philosophies and Arabs stealing medicine knowledge from Africa and claiming them as their own. He says Uganda will be an independent and great African country and, please enjoy the food as he humorously promises that it contains no human flesh. Nicholas meets Stone again and Stone remarks that it is nice to have another Englishman around. Nicholas peevishly clarifies that he is a Scotsman. Amin's fondness for Nicholas is obvious and the British diplomats tease Nicholas that Amin has "clasped you to his bosom".Nicholas is woken in the middle of the night by the frantic servant and summoned to Amin's bedroom. Amin is lying in bed in pain, sure he has been poisoned. Nicholas palpates the stomach and notice glasses of beer and aspirin on the night stand. He finds a baseball bat, presses it against Amin's stomach and a large amount of gas is released. Amin immediately feels better and the Health Minister, who was watching the entire scene, leaves. Amin is ashamed and upset that Nicholas has seen him in his greatest weakness; fear and paranoia. Nicholas assures confidentiality due to the doctor's oath. Amin opens up a bit to Nicholas with stories from his childhood while the soundtrack tells us that Nicholas has been unwittingly trapped.Some time later Nicholas calls Sarah to apologize for accepting Amin's offer. In the background Amin is playing with his numerous children. Nicholas is given a swanky apartment in the immaculate presidential compound and his job is set up in the Presidential Hospital where he meets his predecessor, Dr. Junju. At the hospital he runs into Stone again who wants to use Nicholas as a spy due to his exceptional access to Amin. Nicholas rebuffs Stone's offer, nonetheless Stone cautions him to "keep in touch."Nicholas enjoys the benefits of being in Amin's inner circle and Amin takes him everywhere except outside Uganda. Due to their great physical differences, Nicholas looks something like Amin's pet or trophy. Very soon Nicholas is more than Amin's personal physician but also his most trusted advisor, something Amin says many times in front of senior officers. One day Amin tells Nicholas to attend a meeting in his place as he has to go to Libya at the last minute. Nicholas arrives at the meeting and introduces himself. The attendees are surprised that Nicholas is a doctor and Nicholas is surprised to learn the attendees are important contractors from the foreign consulates. The meeting is to bid for construction contracts.Dressed in Islamic garbs, Amin examines the model for the new building and is pleased with the design Nicholas has chosen. Praising Nicholas's good taste, Amin tells the Health Minister he has no sense of style. The Health Minister simply stares at Amin. Amin's pleasant mood turns sour and he sends the Health Minister away. Amin asks Nicholas if he thought the Health Minister looked at Amin strangely. Nicholas says no.While examining X-ray pictures, Nicholas and Junju hear a series of explosions. Rushing to the hospital roof they see columns of smoke rising in the distant hills where political prisoners are held in a prison. Gunfire can be heard. A messenger comes running looking for Nicholas, saying that the President's son is sick. Nicholas is taken to a house and finds a distressed Kay hovering over a boy in the midst of a seizure. Nicholas assumes that the boy is Campbell but Kay says he is Mackenzie. It is clear Nicholas never heard of or seen Mackenzie before despite being the family's physician, and it is clearer that Kay and the servants have no idea Mackenzie's condition is called epilepsy. Nicholas wants to take Mackenzie to the hospital but Kay begs Nicholas not to, as she and her son are banished from