Article: Whitaker is 'King'-size: Forest Whitaker is commanding as dictator Idi Amin in 'The Last King of Scotland'.

Byline: Michael Sragow

Oct. 13--In The Last King of Scotland, Forest Whitaker gives a performance huge in size and spirit and terrifying in its downward-spiraling momentum. As Gen. Idi Amin, the Ugandan dictator who deposed President Milton Obote in 1971, Whitaker embodies the explosion of energy and the urgent desire for legitimacy that comes with the violent overthrow of any government. Then the power surge dissipates and debauchery ensues as political self-preservation becomes Amin's only goal. He sets tribe against tribe and attempts to use warlord tactics and ethnic cleansing to unite the country behind him. He's a human shark, not just because of his ...

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