This film is not a searing expose on the reign of Idi Amin - it's a rites of passage film about lost innocence. A young, naive Scottish doctor - who thinks too much with his trousers - is looking for adventure and ends up as the personal physician to the Ugandan leader. Gradually the scales fall from his eyes about Amin's rule - and that's it.
I found this a difficult film because in the end I didn't care about any of the characters, particularly the plight of the doctor who'd stumbled across more adventure than he could handle. Will he survive? Ultimately, in true Catherine Tate style, I wasn't bovvered.
However, do see this film for the stunning performance by Forest Whittaker. I'd love know if he's got the Ugandan accent 100% correct - it sounded OK to these untrained ears - but he marvellously portrays both the charisma and terror of Amin, and is by far the best cinematic performance I've seen all year.
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