To say that this movie is boring doesn't do the amount of boredom I felt any sort of justice. Sleep would have been entirely more entertaining. Of course, watching this movie for the movie is not what people do. people watch this movie to watch Forest Whittaker and in that aspect, he does not disappoint. I do have to warn any possible watchers of two things- Forest Whitaker is a supporting character (no matter what the Oscars say) and the main character is fictional, even though the movie is based in fact. Both of these things annoyed me. I was expecting to watch Whittaker just dominate my screen, but he is really a secondary character here. Yes, the movie is based off his character, but it is through the eyes of James McAvoy (the Scottish guy). McAvoy is the lead here and while he does a very good job, this movie just seems to be above and beyond what the director is capable of handling.
McAvoy stars as a fresh from medical school doctor. He is supposed to take over at his father's practice, but he wants to make a difference so he chooses to go to Uganda to be a doctor there. His intentions start off good. He wants to help the sick and poor, yet he also wants to bed his boss's wife (Gillian Anderson). Forest plays the new president of Uganda and he is mesmorizingly charming. Whittaker makes you forget his eyes are crazy and you believe the things he tells you. It is a truly remarkable performance and it is sad there isn't more of him here. After a car accident leaves Whittaker with a hurt hand, McAvoy comes to his rescue and Whittaker seduces McAvoy with nice food, new clothes and the promise of making a real difference and eventually McAvoy becomes his personal doctor. However, he is so much more than that. He becomes a close personal advisor and friend. He gets sucked into Whittaker's web, only to come to realization that Whittaker is a horrible man- killing thousands of innocent people, banishing his youngest wife because the son has epilepsy and torturing countless others. McAvoy wants a way out, but he is charged with killing Whittaker before he can find safe passage out.
I don't want to ruin the end because it is actually pretty good and engrossing, even though most of the movie is not. The director, Kevin McDonald, doesn't seem to trust his material or his performers because he is so set on quick cuts in every scene. I honestly believe the longest shot in the movie lasts about seven seconds. Each scene has about eight cameras on it and the cuts are so quick and so annoying that it really takes away from the drama and the acting instead of enhancing it, which is what good editing is supposed to do. The camera focuses on random things, choosing close ups of random parts of Whittaker's shirt during intense moments, which took away from the scene's intensity. Sadly, these camera issues come up throughout the entire film and really make it difficult to wan tot pay attention or get fully involved in what is going on. Often I found myself just not caring, which is not good for a movie dealing with a genocide. Otherwise strong performances get lost in the camera trickery and it really made me dislike this movie.
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