If I'm honest with you, than I must say that I had some serious doubts about watching this movie. I knew it was a comedy and normally I'm always in for a good laugh, even (or perhaps especially) when it means laughing with some royals. But the main problem that I had with the movie was the fact that it was situated in the eighteenth century, a time period for which I don't really care. Still I gave the movie a try, hoping the best.
Apparently the story was not only based on a play, but also on some actual events. That of course makes it all more interesting, because a king who goes mad isn't something you'll experience every day. And this movie does more than showing why and how King George III started to loose his senses (he had just lost America to independence), it also shows how the man became the victim of political and royal back stabbing, because not only the members of parliament, but even one of his own sons wanted to see him removed from power. It also shows how marginal and primitive the medical practices in the eighteenth century actually were and how it almost was a miracle that the King conquered his disease...
What surprised me after seeing this movie, was that it was more a drama than a comedy. Sure it offered some good laughs, but in the end this was a very serious movie with a serious subject. It was more 'normal' than I expected from it at first. That doesn't mean that I didn't like it of course, it was just something different. The decors and the costumes however were exactly the way I imagined them to be. They are really good and make sure that you know what time period this story is set in. But what I liked most were the performances by the different actors. Especially Nigel Hawthorne is not to be missed as King George III. He's interesting to watch, as well as when he is the 'normal' king, as when he's playing the madman. Perhaps I enjoyed him even more when he acted like a crazy man, even though it's hard to tell when he was at his best. Other people like Helen Mirren and Ian Holm did a very nice job as well and make this movie worth watching.
So, even though I had my doubts about this movie, I must admit that it wasn't bad at all. It wasn't as much a comedy as I had hoped for, but even the more dramatic parts were nice to watch. I give this movie a 7/10.
Apparently the story was not only based on a play, but also on some actual events. That of course makes it all more interesting, because a king who goes mad isn't something you'll experience every day. And this movie does more than showing why and how King George III started to loose his senses (he had just lost America to independence), it also shows how the man became the victim of political and royal back stabbing, because not only the members of parliament, but even one of his own sons wanted to see him removed from power. It also shows how marginal and primitive the medical practices in the eighteenth century actually were and how it almost was a miracle that the King conquered his disease...
What surprised me after seeing this movie, was that it was more a drama than a comedy. Sure it offered some good laughs, but in the end this was a very serious movie with a serious subject. It was more 'normal' than I expected from it at first. That doesn't mean that I didn't like it of course, it was just something different. The decors and the costumes however were exactly the way I imagined them to be. They are really good and make sure that you know what time period this story is set in. But what I liked most were the performances by the different actors. Especially Nigel Hawthorne is not to be missed as King George III. He's interesting to watch, as well as when he is the 'normal' king, as when he's playing the madman. Perhaps I enjoyed him even more when he acted like a crazy man, even though it's hard to tell when he was at his best. Other people like Helen Mirren and Ian Holm did a very nice job as well and make this movie worth watching.
So, even though I had my doubts about this movie, I must admit that it wasn't bad at all. It wasn't as much a comedy as I had hoped for, but even the more dramatic parts were nice to watch. I give this movie a 7/10.