The Madness of King George deals with King George III of England, who during the time of America declaring independence from the United Kingdom has his rule over the kingdom challenged because of mental instability. The film charts his increasingly eccentric behaviour which worsens to the extent that he is not considered fit to rule. He has his allies – the Lord Chancellor and Prime Minister – and his enemies in the shape of the Prince of Wales who aspires to the throne (in the form of “Prince Regent”, king in all but name), and the Leader of the Opposition in parliament who stands to benefit when the Prince becomes the King. He also has physicians, which may be a help or a hindrance – made worse for his personal physician by the fact that you can’t actually ask the King what’s wrong with him, he has to volunteer the information to you. Another top physician on the case thinks that stools are the best indicator of a person’s health, including their mental health, while a former clergyman with radical techniques is another option to treat the King’s illness. Then again not everyone wants him to be sane again…

Nigel Hawthorne Is a fantastic actor and probably the ideal choice to play King George. He is really believable in his role both as the benevolent monarch and tortured patient. Some of the scenes of his insanity and treatment are quite disturbing, so be warned if you are of a sensitive disposition. The way his family life is portrayed is quite sweet, especially his relationship with his wife, Queen Charlotte (played by Helen Mirren, a fine actress but terrible at accents – at least, in this film I couldn’t work out what her accent was supposed to be!) – they called each other “Mr King” and “Mrs King”. There is a lot of very dry wit in the film, if you don’t concentrate on what the characters say and how they say it a lot will be lost on you. The cast includes the excellent Rupert Everett as the frustrated and scheming Prince of Wales and Julian Wadham as Mr Pitt, the Prime Minister, whose motives are never truly clear – is he truly loyal to the king or are his actions prompted purely by self-interest? Ian Holm’s performance as the unconventional psychiatrist is rather interesting – he looks kind of like a fierce teddy bear. The relationship between him and the king is very interestingly done, particularly the change in this relationship near the end of the film. Geoffrey Palmer is, as always, superb as the Lord Chancellor – whose side he is on never quite seems to be certain…

Though my knowledge of the time period involved (the late 18th century) is admittedly limited, it seemed to me that the filmmakers had done a good job of convincingly portraying the environment and attitudes of 18th century England. One interesting side note is the king’s inability (and / or disinclination) to consider America as a country in its own right rather than a colony of the UK. The music is fitting for the time without overtly seeming to mimic the styles of that time period.

Overall this is a very good historical drama with a very good cast and a tightly woven storyline. Not many characters are explored in detail but given the time constraints of the film this is understandable. Much hinges on Hawthorne’s performance in the lead role, and it is a credit to his enormous talent that he doesn’t disappoint in the least. Some parts of the film are a little slow going, and its not a film that will appeal to everyone, but if you like period dramas then it won’t disappoint you.

The film is rated PG because of content and a little foul language. To be honest I wouldn’t recommend young or sensitive children to watch it anyway because some of the scenes will really be quite distressing to them. On the other hand the ending is slightly more positive than his actual history turned out to be.)

Since I got this as a freebie with a newspaper the value for money was very good, though the DVD print was predictably poor quality.

(At the end of the film there is a little information about what modern doctors think his illness was.)


For more information about King George III see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_George_III


Though not about a king, another excellent film that deals with mental illness is A Beautiful Mind.


Recommended: Yes