Aging King George III (Nigel Hawthorne) of England is exhibiting signs of madness, a problem little understood in 1788. As the monarch alternates between bouts of confusion and near-violent outbursts of temper, his hapless doctors attempt the ineffectual cures of the day. Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte (Helen Mirren) and Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger (Julian Wadham) attempt to prevent the king's political enemies, led by the Prince of Wales (Rupert Everett), from usurping the throne.
The Madness Of King George - Original 1995 Film Review
Roger Ebert
"I am not sure anyone but Nigel Hawthorne could have brought such qualities to this role. Having seen him onstage in London recently, in "The Clandestine Marriage," a play written during George's reign, I was struck again by the way he projects a ferocious facade, and then peeks out from behind it, winking. Through the movie, he punctuates George's dialogue with little verbal tics like "What-what!" and "Yes-yes!" When George emerges briefly from his madness, one of the signs, for those who love him, is the reappearance of "What-what!" The way Hawthorne delivers the line makes it seem, for a moment, as if George has defeated insanity with eccentricity - which, of course, is the madness of the sane." For the full review please CLICK HERE.