This past week I watched some movies that sought to recreate a period in history while using some fictional dramatization. Of these films, some were more successful than others. These films were The Queen [IMC DVD 942.055 Q3 2007], The Last King of Scotland [IMC DVD 967.6104 L349 2007], and United 93 [IMC DVD 303.625 U58 2006].
The Queen was a film that illustrates the period of British history in which Tony Blair came to be appointed Prime Minister immediately prior to the death of Princess Diana. In this movie, Blair is casted as the savior of the monarchy by helping them to better address issues in the media surrounding Princess Diana’s death. Although Helen Mirren does a wonderful job as Queen Elizabeth (winning the Academy Award for Best Actress), some parts felt too fictional to be believable. However, if you don’t take it as complete fact, it is an extremely enjoyable film and portrays a side of Queen Elizabeth that few might have seen before.
In the movie The Last King of Scotland, a young Scottish doctor becomes the personal physician to Idi Amin, a Ugandan dictator ruling from 1971 to 1979. At first, Nicholas Garrigan, the doctor, doesn’t realize the ruthlessness of Amin. However, Garrigan eventually sees the corruption and destruction being caused by Amin and attempts to leave the country. Forest Whitaker plays Idi Amin and does a phenomenal job—it is a hard role to play and he won the Academy Award for Best Actor as a result. I was surprised at how graphic parts of this film were, so that took me a back towards the end of the film. I’m not sure I would recommend this film, but I appreciated what it was trying to do by shedding light on the reign of Idi Amin and the ensuing repercussions.
My final movie was United 93, a biopic which told the story of the only airplane during the September 11th attacks which did not hit its intended target—instead crashing near Shanksville, PA. What most appealed to me first was that this film was created with the approval from the passengers’ families. It is an extremely intense film, with a great build-up in the beginning. While there will obviously be some fictionalization in this type of movie, the filmmakers tried to follow the exact account as closely as possible, including filming as much of the movie as possible in real time. I was very impressed by this film, and such depictions still reverberate very deeply within the American psyche, myself included.
Our “Never Been Watched” DVD display has ended, but come check out our new display: “Strong Women Characters”. Follow along on your own film travelogue journey here: https://letterboxd.com/peterstanley/list/1001-movies-you-must-see-before-you-die/ .
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