Paul_Ritchie's Full Review: Madness of King George
The Madness of King George owes most of its success to Nigel Hawthorne. Working with a potentially thin plot was a risky way to fill nearly 2 hours of final product.
However, the viewer is carried through the serious activity of establishing who is who, and their roles in the story by the King, portrayed by Hawthorne.
As the film progresses, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact time when the King's sanity begins to slip, largely because of Hawthorne's eccentric style. And far from becoming a jibbering idiot, the viewer agonises with the King's struggle and treatments because although mad, the King repeatedly comes up with bitingly accurate observations, particularly about his son, which are given full and unremitting expression - unheard of since Henry VIII.
It is this humour with which the viewer sympathises, brilliantly delivered by Hawthorne, which makes this film so entertaining. The humour is secondary to the story of the inner struggle of the King and the unsympathetic actions of his son, but the tragic decline and slow, painful recovery are the backbone of the story.
This film is more rewarding when one remembers that this is historical drama, that George III did, in fact, go mad and recover, and that his son was, for a period, the Prince Regent. This fact adds the dimension of just how fragile a Government of that time could have become in such a circumstance.
On the whole, an interesting enough story, well told, convincingly performed and a thoroughly entertaining night's viewing.
Written by Alan Bennett fro his stage play and featuring a towering performance by Nigel Hawthorne, and a stunning screen directorial debut by Tony Aw...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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