After 25 years in Hollywood, Forest Whitaker is finally getting top billing. In the last 12 months, he has picked up an Oscar for his gripping portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He caps the year with "The Great Debaters," which opened Dec. 25. An all-star collaboration, the film was directed by and co-stars Denzel Washington and produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions. It's already caught a lot of buzz, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture, despite mixed reviews. As James Farmer, Whitaker dons a Southern accent in the (somewhat) true story of a champion debate team from Wiley College, a small, historically black institution in rural Texas. Farmer is the father of a student who joins Wiley, which is led by the charismatic and polarizing poet Melvin Tolson (Washington). At first, Farmer is skeptical of the radical teacher who leads the team, but as the Wiley debaters rack up victories, he starts to change his mind. After the movie ends, the real-life James Farmer, Jr., goes on to become a leader in the civil rights movement. Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the Jim Crow South, the 1935 Wiley debate team caps the film with a victory against Harvard, a match that, in real life, pitted Wiley against the University of Southern California. Some critics have said that the film plays into feel-good movie formulas, yet somehow, the cast manages to rise above the cliches of an Oprah-approved historical drama.
Usually a larger-than-life presence, the 6-foot-2-inch Whitaker takes the backseat in the film, leaving most of the dramatic arc to Washington and the young actors - including Denzel Whitaker, the actor who plays his son, and who coincidentally shares a name with the film's biggest stars. But with an Oscar in his pocket, it's Whitaker's name on the marquee. It's also a chance to see a quieter, more mature Forest, and with five films scheduled for 2008, including the animated "Where the Wild Things Are," it's one we can expect to see a lot more of.
By Heather Corcoran
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
A recognizable face to filmgoers for performances in notable movies over the course of 25 years, Whitaker's stardom gained wattage with the 2006 release of "The Last King of Scotland." His acclaimed turn as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin won him most of the year's notable prizes for Best Actor, including the Golden Globe, the BAFTA, and, ultimately, the Academy Award. Co-starring James McAvoy as a Scottish doctor who travels to Uganda and becomes a member of the dictator's entourage - reeled in by his decadent lifestyle and willfully blind to his murderous tendencies - the film is told through the perspective of a fictive protagonist. But shot on location in Uganda, it aims for verisimilitude in its portrayal of Amin - an outsized personality who blindsided a contingent of the foreign press corps with his charm in the early '70s. Whitaker did serious homework for the role – learning Swahili, taking accordion lessons and gaining more than 50 pounds.
- Cotton Delo
