The Last King of Scotland 2006

In the verdant hills of Scotland, Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) donned his medical degree in 1970, only to be met with uninspiring prospects at home. Seeking a thrill beyond the borders of his homeland, he embarked on a journey to Uganda, where he would join Dr. David Merrit (Adam Kotz) and his wife Sarah (Gillian Anderson) at their missionary clinic. Garrigan’s arrival coincided with a seismic shift in Ugandan politics, as General Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) seized power through a bloodless coup, ousting President Milton Obote.

As Garrigan settled into his new role, he found himself drawn to Sarah’s enigmatic presence, though she remained resolute in her refusal to indulge his romantic overtures. Meanwhile, Amin’s charisma and vision captivated Garrigan during a rally, where the general’s impassioned speech left an indelible mark on the young doctor.

Garrigan’s admiration for Amin only deepened as he treated the general’s hand after a minor car accident. The act of shooting a mortally wounded cow to put it out of its misery impressed Amin, who was delighted to discover Garrigan’s Scottish heritage and exchanged his military shirt for the doctor’s Scotland jersey. As their bond grew stronger, Amin extended an offer for Garrigan to become his personal physician and spearhead modernization efforts in Uganda’s healthcare system.

As Garrigan’s influence within Amin’s inner circle expanded, he found himself privy to matters of state beyond medical care. Though initially oblivious to the violence plaguing Kampala, Garrigan came to realize that Amin’s brutal suppression of opposition was a far cry from the lasting peace promised. His relationships with Kay (Kerry Washington), one of Amin’s three wives, and her epileptic son Mackenzie (Apollo Okwenje Omamo) further complicated his moral landscape.

As Garrigan’s power grew, so did his connection to the British Foreign Office, which reached out to recruit him as a potential asset. This subtle overture served as a poignant reminder that Amin’s rise to power was not entirely organic, but rather the culmination of external forces.

As Garrigan (played by) saves Amin from a treacherous assassination attempt, the Ugandan dictator’s trust in him grows exponentially, eclipsing even the counsel of his longtime friend and health minister, Waspa. The discovery of Waspa engaging in clandestine conversations with a white man at a local watering hole piques Garrigan’s curiosity, prompting him to share this revelation with Amin. Shortly thereafter, Stone (Simon McBurney), the British Foreign Office representative, informs Garrigan that Waspa has vanished alongside several high-ranking government officials suspected of treason against Amin. When Garrigan approaches Amin about Waspa’s disappearance, he is met with a resolute refusal to permit his departure from Uganda.

As time passes, Garrigan begins to lose faith in Amin’s increasingly paranoid regime, which is marked by brutal repression and xenophobic purges targeting South Asians. The dictator replaces Garrigan’s British passport with a Ugandan one, rendering escape impossible. Desperate for assistance, Garrigan turns to Stone, who reveals that the British are willing to facilitate his departure from Uganda if he agrees to assassinate Amin. However, Garrigan’s moral compass remains unwavering, and he declines the offer.

Meanwhile, Kay (played by) informs Garrigan of her pregnancy with his child. Cognizant of Amin’s brutal treatment of those deemed disloyal, she implores Garrigan for a secret abortion to spare her life. Alas, Garrigan is delayed by Amin’s command that he attend a press conference with Western journalists, leaving Kay to seek a primitive abortion in a nearby village. When Amin’s forces apprehend her, Garrigan discovers her mutilated corpse on an autopsy table, prompting him to confront the stark reality of Amin’s regime and ultimately deciding that taking his life is the only means to bring about justice.

In a shocking turn of events, a hijacked Air France aircraft crashes-lands at Entebbe, carrying pro-Palestinian hijackers seeking asylum from international authorities. Amin rushes to the scene, bringing Garrigan along for the ride. At the airport, one of Amin’s bodyguards uncovers Garrigan’s plan to poison him under the guise of treating his headache. Betrayal exposed, Garrigan is brutally beaten by Amin’s henchmen before the dictator himself appears, revealing that he is aware of Garrigan’s relationship with Kay. As punishment for his transgressions, Garrigan’s chest is pierced with meat hooks, and he is left hanging from his skin in a gruesome display of retribution.

As Amin orchestrates a hasty evacuation for the non-Israeli passengers, Garrigan’s tormentors abandon him to suffer on the cold, hard floor, oblivious to the chaos unfolding elsewhere. Meanwhile, Dr. Junju (David Oyelowo), a medical colleague of Garrigan’s from the hospital, seizes the opportunity to stage a daring rescue mission. With conviction and urgency, he implores Garrigan to share the brutal truth about Amin’s regime with the world, acknowledging that as a white man, his testimony would carry more weight than that of any native Ugandan.

Junju equips Garrigan with his own jacket, allowing him to blend seamlessly into the throng of freed hostages and slip onto the departing plane. As the torturers discover Garrigan’s disappearance, Dr. Junju pays the ultimate price for his bravery, falling victim to their bullets as the aircraft takes off into the night. Amin is left grasping at straws, too late to prevent Garrigan’s escape.

As the plane soars into the distance, Garrigan is overcome with emotion, his thoughts consumed by the countless innocent lives lost under Amin’s brutal regime. The aftermath of this harrowing ordeal is juxtaposed with a somber epilogue, which presents stark, unflinching footage of Amin himself, as well as chilling statistics: over 300,000 Ugandans who perished under his reign of terror. This poignant sequence also chronicles the dictator’s eventual downfall in 1979 and his subsequent demise while in exile in Saudi Arabia in 2003 – a testament to the indelible mark left by Garrigan’s courageous testimony.