A well-acted, superbly staged, but rather protracted account of an illness that appeared to make King George III lose his mind and encouraged the idle but scheming Prince of Wales to lay claim to the throne of England. Although Alan Bennett supplies some fruitily penetrating lines which Nigel Hawthorne, as the king, particularly relishes, there's rather too little in way of court intrigue and too much concentration on bodily functions to keep a firm grip on the mind of the viewer, let alone the king. Looking for all the world here like a taller version of Mel Brooks, Hawthorne rumblingly dominates it as the king; he's a rattling old eccentric and recidivist to boot. He's not entirely without lovability, though, and one look at the opposition will have you on his side. Rupert Everett is the prince to the dandified life, Helen Mirren effective as the queen, addressing her home-loving spouse as 'Mr King' and Amanda Donohoe miscast as a lady in waiting. The ending slightly lacks the bite we've been expecting, but it's satisfying enough for all that.

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