6 of 10
Cinematography by Andrew Dunn
Nigel Hawthorne
Helen Mirren
Ian Holm
Rupert Everett
Julian Wadham
John Wood
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| The Madness of King George 6 of 10 |
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| Directed by Nicholas Hytner Cinematography by Andrew Dunn Nigel Hawthorne Helen Mirren Ian Holm Rupert Everett Julian Wadham John Wood |
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| I have a soft spot in my heart for period costume dramas, although I�m really not exactly sure why. They are usually much more theatrical; a style I tend to dislike. But there�s something about their attention to detail, and the grand, sweeping palette they use that fascinates me. However, some costume dramas rely almost entirely on their �feel,� whereas others have real drama and insight to offer. This one fell, strangely enough, squarely in the middle. The story was surprisingly touching, when it dealt specifically with George, his wife, and their struggle against his insanity. But the film only deals with this struggle some of the time. Another significant portion centers on the struggles of George�s supporters to preserve his monarchy from the scheming plans of his son (played with wonderful odiousness by Rupert Everett.) And it was these parts that seemed to drag: I cared a great deal about George as a man, but not at all about George as a king. So all the tension of whether or not he would lose his throne fell flat. I found that I simply didn�t care about all the crooked dealings, all the plots, and about Parliament�s petty bickerings. I just wanted to get back to George (brilliantly realized by the almost criminally underrated Nigel Hawthorne), and his doctor (also brilliantly portrayed by the ever spectacular Ian Holm.) Finally, the film�s bipartite nature seems unavoidable, though. The two separate worlds are both essential to the film�s premise. So, I can�t really criticize it for my own lack of interest. A final thought: I would be remiss to conclude without mention of the brilliant work turned in by composer George Fenton. In this particular film, he did not compose a single note of original music. Instead, he put together a score taken exclusively from the works of G. F. Handel. It was unexpectedly and amazingly effective. I would love to see this sort of thing done more often in films | ||||||