Intriguing and Smart

The story of King George's bout with madness is interesting and could easily have been done badly. But the script keeps a healthy distance and gives the viewer flashes of depth. The ending seemed a bit contrived as the King is coincidentally cured the day his son goes to take regency. But apart from a few boring plot devices I think they did a nice job of not going over the top in acting. It would have been terribly easy to make George zanier, or the Prince of Wales more despicable or cartoonish. But they seemed to give all the characters a viewpoint where we could understand why the did what they did. The Prince begged to be given something of worth to do. The touching relationship between George and his wife was done exquisitely. The people plotting intrigues generally had a valid point. All the second layer characters were given interesting and multi layered points of view. The buffoonish doctors even were handled with a touch of sympathy, doing the best they could with the knowledge at hand. And George himself was so complicated you never were sure you liked him. But even if you didn't like him, you felt sorry for the horrendous things he suffered. Excellent movie, should be watched by all.

8/10