The Madness of King George is a good movie. It is enjoyable to watch and you will no doubt come away glad that you did. Though the Madness of King George is a movie about political struggles, there is a lot of light hearted comedy that adds a very colourful flavour. The comedy is quite good and the story is quite interesting.
The Madness of King George is set in 1788 in England. Britain has just lost its American colonies and this plays a major part on the health on the King. Though it is difficult to see due to the King's behaviour throughout the movie, the blurb says that he is beginning to act strangely. Nigel Hawthorne plays a rather cheerful and eccentric king but as the movie progresses the eccentricity becomes more and more extreme. It is at this stage that the king is believed to be mad and the movie turns into one of a political struggle. Yet right from the beginning of the movie one does sense desire coming from the kings eldest son so it is not surprising that he wants to take the throne.
The acting in the movie is extremely good and Nigel Hawthorne plays the role of the king brilliantly. The film makers have managed to capture the atmosphere of the aristocracy and have portrayed the era and the customs accurately. One aspect that I was particularly impressed with was the allusions to Shakespeare's King Lear, which is another story of a king gone mad. Unfortunately it seems that the movie probably followed the plot of King Lear a little too closely. Though the play and the movie do end differently, there is a number of simulates. The movie does though acknowledge King Lear near the end. The plot of the ambitious prince wanting to take the throne of the king is also an overused plot point but that happens.
The Madness of King George is set in 1788 in England. Britain has just lost its American colonies and this plays a major part on the health on the King. Though it is difficult to see due to the King's behaviour throughout the movie, the blurb says that he is beginning to act strangely. Nigel Hawthorne plays a rather cheerful and eccentric king but as the movie progresses the eccentricity becomes more and more extreme. It is at this stage that the king is believed to be mad and the movie turns into one of a political struggle. Yet right from the beginning of the movie one does sense desire coming from the kings eldest son so it is not surprising that he wants to take the throne.
The acting in the movie is extremely good and Nigel Hawthorne plays the role of the king brilliantly. The film makers have managed to capture the atmosphere of the aristocracy and have portrayed the era and the customs accurately. One aspect that I was particularly impressed with was the allusions to Shakespeare's King Lear, which is another story of a king gone mad. Unfortunately it seems that the movie probably followed the plot of King Lear a little too closely. Though the play and the movie do end differently, there is a number of simulates. The movie does though acknowledge King Lear near the end. The plot of the ambitious prince wanting to take the throne of the king is also an overused plot point but that happens.