The Last King of Scotland (James McAvoy) (2006)

The Last King of Scotland

I fell in love with James McAvoy in the scene where he shoots the cow. He is a new doctor who feels trapped by a comfortable life in Scotland, so he sets out for the first place his finger lands on the globe (well, the second place--apparently Canada is simply not an option). He goes to Uganda with the vague feeling that he can make a difference, but his life proves to be one hardly worth saving (as we see at the end). It is a coming-of-age story, but that subtext gets buried beneath Forest Whitaker's shocking portrayal of the near-psychotic rule of dictator Idi Amin. I first fell in love with McAvoy in the scene where he actually meets Idi Amin. Amin has only just come to power, and McAvoy's character (Dr. Nicholas Garrigan) encounters him on the road, where Amin has had an accident with a farmer's cart. Dr. Garrigan proceeds to tend to Amin (whose injuries are only minor), but the entire scene is made frantic and stressful--for both the Doctor and the viewer--by the wailing of the farmer's ox dying by the side of the road. Nicholas's anxiety and distraction turn nearly to fear until he pulls a gun from one of Amin's guards and shoots the cow--to the astonishment of all present.

The character's desire to "put that animal out of its misery" struck a chord with me for personal reasons, but it is James's fever over the situation that makes the scene significant. It foreshadows his understanding of the situation in the country, yet even he cannot quite interpret his anxiety. He comprehends all of the absurd situations that follow with unease--for him, things seem out of control, but all can be explained away with only a slight pang to his conscience. It is only when his own affair with Amin's wife (gracefully portrayed by the doe-eyed Kerry Washington) is exposed that the horrors around him take root--he reaches full enlightenment only when reality penetrates his self-absorption. Yet for as much as I love the coming-of-age story, I have the appropriate disdain for his naivety. When the film finally asks whether or not the Doctor's life is one worth saving, I stand behind the question. What has he done that is worthy? James has not disappointed. He embodies fully the line between innocence and ignorance, and I didn't even notice that he stepped over into the region of ignorance just enough to make me question the value of the character. This is subtle performance at its finest--he does not seek love for himself or the character, but he preserves the integrity of the protagonist as he was written.