Victoria and Abdul

Victoria and Abdul
2017
3/5 stars

Victoria and Abdul is the "'mostly" true story of the unlikely friendship between Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) and a Muslim Indian, Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal).  Karim is sent from India as an emissary, and the Queen is taken with him and his easy personality, treats him with favor, and bestows honors on him.  Her family and attendants, especially her son Bertie (later to be Edward VII, played by Eddie Izzard), dislike him and his influence and try to discredit him with the Queen.

Dame Judi is fantastic in this role.  She plays ailing, grouchy, and old to perfection, then lights up the screen with grace, majesty and strength. It would not surprise me to see her win awards for this performance.

Fazal was also wonderful in his role as sweet, endearing, devoted to the Queen.  However, his part was not three-dimensional--he was too perfect, too servile.  The viewer was left wondering what made Abdul tick, and what his motives were.

In addition, the story (which covered the 15 years of Karim's service to the Queen) was short on plot.  It was, instead, a string of tableaux in which both featured, but without their relationship developing or maturing.  Furthermore, the portrayal of Queen Victoria as a liberal-thinking woman was, I think, colored more by wishful thinking than historical accuracy.

I did like the film, though.  It is cute, sweet, and at times, funny, with a positive message of tolerance and equality.  It was enjoyable to watch, but the lack of depth to the plot kept it from being fully immersive.  The cast (supporting cast included) were all excellent, as mentioned.  Overall, it's an fun light movie, but not one to rely upon historically.

This movie is available to rent on Amazon.