A funny thing happened to me after I finished a screening of "The Last King of Scotland," I thought about the Iraq war. I thought of the war because here is a movie about a dictator, who got the people of his country on his side, took over the country, and then caused great misery throughout his country. Saddam was a monster, but to many Iraqi's he was a man for the people before he went crazy on them. "The Last King of Scotland" revolves around Nicholas Garrigan, the son of a wealthy doctor in Scotland who just received his own doctor's degree. He's supposed to go into the family business with dear old dad, but feels he is called somewhere else, and ends up in Ugandan, Africa. Nicholas has come to Ugandan during a time where Ugandan is about to become a republic, under the leadership of their new president Idi Amin.

Nicholas hears Amin speak at a rally, and falls in love with the guy. Here's a leader who's charming, funny, and good with kids. When Nicholas meets Amin, he is pleased to discover that Amin takes a liking to Nicholas too. So much so, that Amin makes Nicholas his personal doctor and eventually his personal advisor. Nicholas gets treated like royalty by Amin, and feels proud to be contributing to Ugandans' bright future. However, as time goes on, Amin starts showing signs that he is not the giant teddy bear he appears to be. After a couple of Amin's men question his true intentions, the men

disappear. A British journalist tells Nicholas to keep an eye on Amin, claimed that Amin had not only killed hundreds of people, but that "they are getting very sloppy too. They aren't bothering digging graves anymore, choosing to just feed most people to the crocodiles."

As the movie goes on, we too start to worry about Amin's sanity. We see more and more of his outbursts, and when Nicholas requests to go home, Amin gives him a cold stare that shot daggers into my heart. It's at this point Nicholas realizes what a dangerous man Amin really is, and watching the movie from an audience perspective, we suspect that it could be too late for Nicholas to get out of the situation he has gotten himself into. Nicholas Garrigan is played by James McAvoy, who is best known as Mr. Tumnus the Faun in "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe," and he gives a star making performance in this movie. While we see the signs way in advance that Nicholas may be getting too close and personal with a dangerous man, we can't deny that he's living a good lifestyle. With the eagerness of a kid owning his first car, McAvoy goes through the perfect notions of someone who is treated like a king himself, before he realizes the danger he might be in.

Gillian Anderson, who has a minor role as Dr. Sarah Merrit, warns Nicholas that Amin might not be as nice as he seems, and halfway

through the movie, we'll discover that she was right. The star of the movie though is Forrest Whitaker as the murderous Idi Amin. With a thick accent, playful modes, and terrifying moments where the character is raving like a madman, Whitaker will most likely win the Academy Award for Best Actor come Oscar time. While Whitaker's character is only in about two-thirds of the movie, his presence is larger then life, and is one of those truly memorable performances that will linger in your mind years after the movie has faded from your memory. What we ultimately have with "The Last King of Scotland" is the story of a man who could have been a true leader, but chose the path of a dictator.

Many murderous dictators exist in the world today, and like Idi Amin, they too most likely charmed their countrymen until they got into power, where their true colors came to light. I warn you now, this is not a movie you will go to see for entertainment. Oh sure, the first half of the film has you smiling quite a bit, but the final hour is grim, dark, and there is at least one torture scene that is the most graphic torture scene I've seen since Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ." Most people will not want to finish "The Last King of Scotland," or even want to see it in the first place, but it is a fascinating historical piece that reminds us of how lucky we are to live in America, or any free country, away from dictators like Idi Amin.