MovieChat Forums > The Last King of Scotland (2007) Discussion > The book

The book

posted 15 years ago by raluk_voinea
3 replies | jump to latest

Has anyone read the book? Because the screenplay writers sure haven't. Sara ( not Sarah ) is a different character. She is a doctor from Israel who works at the clinic. Nicholas and her fall in love, but one day she misteriously disappears. It later turns out the is in the Israelian Army. Kay Amin is cheating her husband with another man ( a doctor, I don't remember his name - not Nicholas ) and gets pregnant. When her boyfriend tries to make an abortion ( because Nicholas refused to do it ) she dies of internal bleeding. Mrs. Merrit is cheating her husband, too, and it is true that Nicholas "hit on her", but she rejects him. And, most important, in the end, Nicholas returns to Scotland SAFE AND SOUND in the house that he got from a dead uncle, while Amin flees from Uganda to continue his luxorious life in South Africa.
( Excuse my spelling mistakes, I'm Romanian :-?? :)) )

[–] gugrad94 15 years ago

I have read the book. I like the movie Nicholas better than the book Nicholas. In the book, I found Nicholas to be more of a coward and a whiner. And after he gets home "SAFE AND SOUND" he gives up on life and basically becomes a recluse. The movie Nicholas had much guts, although, just as selfish and self-centered as the book Nicholas.

SPOILER...... for those who still haven't seen it.

....Nicholas stood up to Amin. You could see the fright in his eyes, but he wouldn't go down without at least a verbal fight.

"GG."

[–] jstang411 15 years ago

The book is more nuanced and Nicholas is given a much more human, if flawed, persona. It is has a larger personal exploration component as opposed to solely being a good guy thrown into dramatic events, and letting those events take the driver seat.

Both are good, even great. I think the difference in focus (or at least the parts left out in the movie) are typical of what you get when a fairly serious novel is made into a move with a more simple focus.

[–] stuart-193 14 years ago

The book, taken as a direct "script", would not have made for the excellent film that was made. I prefer the movie version - much more exciting

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