4. Forrest Whitaker As Idi Amin The Last King Of Scotland
Fox Searchlight PicturesWhile heavily integrated with fictional elements, Kevin Macdonalds taut thriller, The Last King of Scotland, draws its most barbarous and haunting elements from the factual truths behind its villainous central figure, Idi Amin. Told largely from the perspective of a Scottish-born doctor, who has found himself under the tyrannical wing of Amin, Macdonalds film follows the megalomaniacal Amins descent into brutality, corruption and paranoia. Macdonalds direction ensures that the film is consistently gripping, but its Forest Whittakers performance as the deranged despot that makes this portrayal so utterly arresting. Whittaker has clearly studied his subject well, as its not just the dark side of Amin that he so succinctly relays to us. Whittaker is disturbingly charming as Amin, his smile is earnest and his laugh is more akin to a bellow, but the suspicion that Amin is truly mad never escapes the audiences thoughts. Whittaker puts together one of the most complete performances in cinematic history, and the result is absolutely petrifying.