Helen Mirren makes another appearance, this time as Queen Charlotte, but it's her on-screen husband King George III who is the star of this film. It stars Nigel Hawthorne as the titular Mad King George, who spent much of his reign in and out of lucidity, while his son the Prince of Wales (played by Rupert Everett) fought to become Prince Regent, basically the de facto king. Today, most historians believe that George suffered from acute intermittent porphyria, which frequently manifests itself in the form of depression, anxiety, mania, hallucinations, confusion, and psychosis. This films focuses on the beginning of his mental decline, and many of the treatments visited upon the king to attempt to reverse his madness. Hawthorne takes the king and creates an incredibly sympathetic figure, a man trying to overcome his instability while primitive physicians subject him to painful and abusive "medical" procedures. It's one of the biggest shockers in film history that he lost out the Academy Award to Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
