The Madness of King George: Difference between revisions
Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead. #IABot (v2.0beta9)
m (trope=>work) |
(Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead. #IABot (v2.0beta9)) |
||
(10 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown) | |||
Line 2:
[[File:MadnessofKingGeorge_6098.jpg|frame]]
In late 1788, George III once again began showing signs of the mysterious mental illness that had first plagued him in the 1760s. Politicians, scenting the possibility of change, homed in for the kill. So, for that matter, did the king's much-disliked son and heir, the Prince of Wales. But in 1789, just as the Prince was on the verge of becoming Regent...the king made a miraculous (and mysterious) recovery.
A little over two centuries later, the playwright Alan Bennett turned this material into ''[[
Contemporary audiences noted some obvious similarities between the film's [[The House of Hanover|House of Hanover]] and the twentieth-century [[The House of Windsor|House of Windsor]], especially when it came to frustrated Princes of Wales. However, the film is as much a response to ''[[
{{tropelist}}
* [[Bearer of Bad News]]: Captain Fitzroy does this quite a lot, although he's clearly enjoying himself.
▲* [[Bearer of Bad News]]: Captain Fitzroy does this quite a lot, although he's clearly enjoying himself.
* [[Being Watched]]: All of the royals are under constant, if supposedly invisible, observation, but Dr. Willis specializes in controlling people just by looking at them.
* [[Berserk Button]]: The Prince of Wales is this to King George... regardless of his sanity or not. And when he finds out - once his wits are about him - that his worthless son had gotten ''married without permission''...
* [[Blackmail]]: Lord Chancellor Thurlow uses the Prince's marriage to blackmail Fox.
* [[Bound and Gagged]]: In a cruel mockery of the coronation, George III is gagged and bound to a chair when he "misbehaves
** The whole treatment of King George in the hands of Francis Willis (and other doctors) is sadly [[Truth in Television]]. Obviously Willis was the first to use straightjacketing, and it made scandal at the time because it violated the person of the King. But when George went better and was declared cured Willis was acclaimed as a hero.
* [[Creator Cameo]]: That's author Alan Bennett as the nasal MP who starts speechifying just as George III rolls up in his coach.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Fortnum; Pitt, on occasion.
* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: A small, blink-and-you'll-miss-it instance. Early on, George III is bemoaning the loss of the American colonies. The camera at one point shows a globe turned to display the new United States. The problem is that the borders of the U.S. shown are those as of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803; the movie is set in 1788, at which point the U.S. did not occupy any territory west of the Mississippi River.
** This scene is arguably also an example in that George III apparently never dwelt negatively on American independence after it happened and advocated friendship with the new United States.
* [[Dramatic Irony]]: The happy ending is not, in fact, a happy ending, because George III will go mad again (permanently so by 1810).
* [[Dysfunctional Family]]: The Prince of Wales vs. Ma and Pa.
* [[The Evil Prince]]: The Prince of Wales, although the film does convey his understandable frustration.
* [[Genre Blindness]]: Thurlow completely fails to realize that he's in ''[[
* [[Happily Married]]: George and Charlotte, when George has his wits about him.
* [[Historical Beauty Update]]: In the film, Queen Charlotte and Lady Pembroke. William Pitt the Younger, too, although that's a matter of casting instead of the script.
* [[Historical Domain Character]]: Virtually the entire cast of characters, except for Captain Fitzroy.
* [[Honey Trap]]: To gain access to the King, the Queen sends Lady Pembroke off to seduce
* [[I Am the Trope]]:
{{quote|
'''Willis:''' ''No'', sir. ''YOU'' are the ''PATIENT''!
* [[Impeded Messenger]]: Both averted and [[Lampshade|lampshaded]] in Thurlow's race to Parliament before the Regency bill passes.
* [[The Ishmael]]: Captain Greville.
** [[Truth in Television]], as Bennett used Greville's memoirs as one of his sources.
* [[It's What I Do]]: Fox calls Pitt out on being [[The Stoic]]:
{{quote|
'''Pitt''': No, Mr. Fox.
'''Fox''': Do you enjoy ''anything'', Mr. Pitt?
'''Pitt''': A balance sheet, Mr. Fox. I enjoy a good balance sheet.
* [[Jerkass]]: The Prince of Wales. He cares less about his father, his family, and the empire than his own indulgences.
* [[The Lancer]]: Lady Pembroke, to Queen Charlotte. Even when George's madness has him assaulting Pembroke in public, the Lady still proves herself loyal to Charlotte. And the Queen knows it, which is why she entrusts the Lady to {{spoiler|seduce Greville.}}
* [[Mad Love]]: While mad, the King becomes obsessed with Lady Pembroke.
{{quote|
* [[Man Child]]: The Prince of Wales.
* [[Meaningful Name]]: Fitzroy, a name originally given to a king's illegitimate child.
* [[Meddling Parents]]: The King and Queen keep close tabs on what their adult children are doing. Too close, as far as the Prince of Wales is concerned...
* [[No Good Deed Goes Unpunished]]: Of all the characters, Captain Greville is, by far, the nicest to George III; therefore, it should come as no surprise that
**
** As Fitzroy explains, Greville was sacked because his served the King out of personal feeling of kindness rather than duty. He went beyond his duty as the King's Squire to help him by pity and he invested himself emotionally to the King's well-being. Cue his clumsy early comment in front of the King's doctor that {{spoiler|The King is only a man}}, which probably also made him suspicious to some of his superiors.
* [[Not Himself]]: One of the big themes--the King returns to sanity when he begins to "seem himself."
* [[Oh Crap]]: The Prince of Wales' response when the King shows up again.
* [[Pragmatic Adaptation]]: The politicians have much more to do in the original play. Sheridan and Dundas, for example, are actual roles, not bit parts. For the film, Bennett cut back on the politics to achieve a tighter focus on the King's madness.
** Bennett actually began chopping bits and pieces out of the political plot during the play's US tour.
* [[Royally Screwed-Up]]: By porphyria.
* [[Secret Relationship]]: The Prince of Wales' marriage to Mrs. Fitzherbert.
** For those who slept through history class: Maria Fitzherbert was a commoner AND a devoted Catholic. Both points would prevent a current member of the British Royals from marrying someone like her ''even today'' (well, you ''could'' marry a commoner, but the looks of scorn from the titled nobility wouldn't be worth it). Worse yet: Royals can't get married - [[wikipedia:Royal Marriages Act 1772|not then nor now]] - without permission from the Crown.
*** The movie hints that Mrs. Fitzherbert might have been ''the best thing'' in the prince's life and could have been a decent queen.
*** At least as far as the "marrying a commoner" part goes, the current second-in-line for the British throne has opted to do just that, with some [[Blatant Lies|small interest]] [[Sarcasm Mode|from the]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20111014173639/http://royalwedding.yahoo.com/ international press.] They still can't marry Catholics, though.
*** And the Crown can get around the "marrying a commoner" bit by granting title to the bride or family. As long as they do it ''before'' the wedding...
* [[Shout-Out]]: Fortnum exits to open a shop that sounds suspiciously like Fortnum & Mason
* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: Handel's "Zadok the Priest" (traditionally used at coronations) plays when the king is first bound to the chair.
** The king also breaks down completely during a concert devoted to Handel's music.
* [[The Stoic]]: Pitt.
* [[Strawman Political]]: Republicanism (as in opposition to monarchical government, not the GOP) is the film's whipping boy.
* [[Take That]]: The ending was an [[In
* [[Turncoat]]:
** Thurlow twists and turns all over the place.
{{quote|
'''Pitt''': I don't know. But why not? He has his reputation to consider, after all. He has never been on the losing side yet. (from ''The Madness of George III'')
** Captain Fitzroy also jumps both ways, although he is more interested in the King as a ''position'' than he is in his own career.
* [[Ungrateful Bastard]]: At the end, the King
** He had to. The servants had seen the King at his worst, and keeping them on could have created some uncomfortable moments. It's implied most of them will get cushy jobs elsewhere.
* [[Verbal Tic]]: What, what? Hey, hey!
** The verbal tics are a sign that George is ''normal''.
* [[Viewers are Morons]]: NOT an example, despite what many will tell you. There is persistent
{{reflist}}
Line 80 ⟶ 78:
[[Category:The Madness of King George]]
[[Category:Film]]
[[Category:Films Based on Plays]]
[[Category:British Films]]
[[Category:BAFTA Award (Film)]]
[[Category:Cannes Film Festival]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madness of King George, The}}
|