From 1997's Mrs. Brown in which she garnered her first ever Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, Judi Dench is back playing Queen Victoria for the second time. Victoria and Abdul feels more like an accompanying piece to Mrs. Brown than a sequel since it is from a recently discovered part of British history that was hidden due to royal protocol.
In her twilight years, Queen Victoria forged an unlikely friendship with an Indian named Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal) who was randomly selected in the subcontinent to present the Queen with a ceremonial bauble from a colony she
knows nothing about. Dench nailed a bored and old Victoria and the arrival of the "handsome" young man has brought excitement back to her life bound by royal duties and obligations.
knows nothing about. Dench nailed a bored and old Victoria and the arrival of the "handsome" young man has brought excitement back to her life bound by royal duties and obligations.
This alarmed the royal household and led by her son Bertie (Eddie Izzard) the successor to the throne, they thought of Karim as a threat to the monarchy. They refer to him earlier as a Hindu when in fact he's a Muslim. Memories of Princess Diana's final years came back to my mind after that revelation scene.
Victoria then made known that Abdul is her "Mushi: or teacher. She learned about Indian culture thru Abdul. She learned a different culture that is the complete opposite of what she's experiencing and opened her eyes to another part of the world.
Judi Dench is movie royalty and in my book, could do nothing wrong playing a queen. Fazal has that old movie school that was reminiscent of the Hollywood stars of the silent film era. Victoria and Abdul is British royalty light. It was a fun and a learning treat watching it without getting sleepy.
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