The Last King Of Scotland Movie

The Devil's Double

As the opening scenes of The Devil’s Double cut from archival news footage to a palpably false-looking Iraqi desert, Lee Tamahori establishes the central premise of his film. This is a hall of mirrors in which we are repeatedly reminded that we can’t trust the evidence of our own eyes.

Based on the true story of Latif Yahia, an Iraqi soldier who became a body double for Saddam Hussein’s psychopathic son, Uday, The Devil’s Double is clearly intended to be a kind of knockabout nightmare; a bad trip through the Middle East of the late ’80s and early ’90s as seen through the eyes of a bewildered bystander. What actually occurs on screen is a tone-deaf melodrama of abusive ugliness and poor taste.

Dominic Cooper takes on the task of portraying both Uday and Latif, with only the tyrant’s buck teeth, squeaky voice and slicked-down hair to distinguish them. That, and the visible evidence that he’s been digitally stitched into the frame. Cooper huffs and puffs to portray the manic energy and knife-edge insanity that made Uday so dangerous, but there’s something fundamentally inert about the performance. It’s an experiment that simply doesn’t work.

Partly that’s because Latif’s narrative lacks drama. Yes there are the women, the nightclubs, the escape and retaliation. But compare it to the similar story of Nicholas Garrigan in The Last King of Scotland and a flaw becomes apparent. Garrigan was fooled by Idi Amin – for a brief but crucial moment he believed in the dictator. Latif never sees Uday as anything other than a monster; without that seduction, he has nothing to learn or to lose.

In a broader sense, Tamahori has no interest in whether Uday – rapist, torturer, murderer – was a product of a system that permitted these abuses. Or whether, given the circumstances, there may be an Uday in all of us. Instead, he is a reductive, cartoon villain – a paedophile with an Oedipal fixation. You know you’re in murky moral territory when your movie’s voice of reason is Saddam himself.

The Last King of Scotland – Movie Trailer

Zuguide.com Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young, aspiring doctor, moves to Uganda to stand up to his father and make a difference in the world. While working at a mission in a remote village, Nicholas crosses paths with newly elected President Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker), who instantly takes a liking to the Scotsman and hires him as his personal physician. At first, Nicholas is taken in by the lavish parties and comfortable lifestyle provided by his new boss, but when he witnesses Amin’s ruthless treatment of his people firsthand, Nicholas realizes that he is aiding a cruel, unstable monster. Directed by Kevin Macdonald. With Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Simon McBurney and David Oyelowo. Categories: Drama, Thriller, Based on a True Story. Year: 2006. For more trailers with Forest Whitaker, please see zuguide.com Also, for movie previews starring James McAvoy, see zuguide.com Trailers with Gillian Anderson, can be seen at zuguide.com

The trailer shows way too much of the plot. I’m glad I saw this fascinating movie prior to seeing the trailer. The movie really isn’t so much about Idi Amin as it is about Nicholas Garrigan (fabulous performance by James McAvoy) and his perspective of Amin. It was deeply disturbing and gave me bad dreams. Save it for after the kiddies have gone to bed. Powerful and amazing on so many levels.

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