This what I refer to as an undiscovered gem of a movie. Terrific acting and a great story. Not boring at all, as I thought it might be, before I viewed it.

kwarah is a racist who hates the british & writes vile offensive anti-brit comments on all he finds.

While the English obsession with the monarchy & the oligarchy is simply insane, imagine, an insane & mentally disturbed King ruling England? VERY INTERESTING & SOME TIMES VERY FUNNY FILM.

Nominated for four academy awards, including best screenplay, it won for best art direction. In Britain it won various awards including best picture. Helen Mirren won for best actress at Cannes. All the acclaim was quite deserved. The writing is especially wonderful: clever turns of phrase, and at times very funny. Poignant moments, and yet a wonderful spoof of the monarchy.

Excellent dramatic and comedic performance by Nigel Hawthorne. However, the movie doesn't flow well. The extremely foppish portrayal by Rupert Murdoch, as Prince of Wales, and his sidekick the Duke of York seems at odds with the way Hawthorne and Mirren portrayed their roles as the Royal Couple. I understand the tension that the film was trying to convey between the King and his covetous son. However, in both costume and acting, the characters seemed like two separate films. Additionally, although Helen Mirren gave a fine performance as the loyal Queen Charlotte, her accent wasn't consistent. Midway through the film her accent seemed to change from high English to something "foreign". Until then, I thought she was of British heritage. When the accent was noticeable, I wasn't sure if she was supposed to be French (consistent with the name) or German, e.g. when she pronounced "we" as "ve" in one bedroom scene. The movie did a good job of revealing the tortuous and bizarre notions of medicine during this time. However, it wasn't clear if the film wanted to portray Ian Holmes as a real factor in the King's recovery or not. He seemed quite stern and unfeeling toward his patient. Porphyria, the actual medical disease the King suffered from, is finally revealed in a screen commentary at the end of the film. I think this would have been a uniquely interesting topic to delve into during the film. Instead, the movie only adds it as a sidenote. Enjoyable enough but with the potential storyline, quality of British actors, location and costumes available, I think the director and producers missed the mark.

I desperately want to wear those wigs that the British wore, with the three curly rolls on each side, the pony tail, and all grey and regal. I long for the return of said fashions, a la Amadeus and this film. Elizabethan/Shakespearean tights and ruffles would be great also. The film is a joy to watch, for the costumes alone. Still, the movie cannot be recommended very highly because it's much ado about nothing and is almost fairy-tale like in it's handling of the king's illness.

Boring. Yawn.

Great filmmaking and excellent acting. Superb glimpses into the history and life in those times.