The Madness of King George

 

"The Madness of King George, Based on Alan Bennett's acclaimed play The Madness of George III, takes a dark-humored look at the mental decline of King George III of England. Taking place in 1788, the film's story begins three decades into George's reign, as the unstable king (Nigel Hawthorne) begins to show signs of increasing dementia, from violent fits of foul language to bouts of forgetfulness. The King's prime minister William Pitt (Julian Wadham) and his wife Queen Charlotte (Helen Mirren) are determined to protect the throne during this time of weakness, when many see it as an opportunity to overthrow the unpopular George, whom they blamed for the loss of the American colonies. Although doctors are brought in, their archaic treatments of the time prove of little value and therefore, in desperation, they turn to Dr. Willis (Ian Holm), a harsh, unconventional specialist whose unusual methods recall modern psychiatry."

Comment to this post by Anne Browning: "Yes - it's a brilliant screenplay enabling brilliant performances. The direction is superb.  It's also a great lesson in juxtaposition of elements. His gagging coincides with the rousing coronation music, used ironically here, it creates a terrible sense of loss of dignity. That's good direction - not pulling out the violins and going slo-mo or something obvious like that is a stroke of genius. But yes, Nigel Hawthorne is just magnificent. He was often defined as a comic actor, indeed his timing and ability to flip scenes on their head, as you might in a comedy, is used to brilliant effect in this film. His choices are unpredictable and absolutely inspired and help create the strange nature of George's "madness". In many ways George was an effective monarch, and like Shakespeare the writer uses the important stage of monarchy to talk about something much more intimate and real - the loss of status, dignity and respect we feel with a mental illness. It is a totally convincing portrait of a man unravelling before our eyes."

But did the Mad King ever announce ‘International Pronouns Day’?