1. Plot

2. Cast

3. Production

4. Release

5. Reception

6. Accolades

7. References

8. External links

• BBC Films
• Perfect World Pictures
• Working Title Films
• Cross Street Films

The film was nominated for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 90th Academy Awards, and Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (for Dench) at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.

Plot

Abdul Karim, a young prison clerk from Agra, British Raj, is instructed to travel to England for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887 to present her with a mohur, a gold coin that has been minted as a token of appreciation from British-ruled India.

The queen, who is lonely and tired of her fawning courtiers, develops an interest in and then a friendship with Abdul. She spends time with him alone and gives him a bejeweled locket with her photograph. She promotes him to become her Munshi. She asks him to teach her Urdu and the Qur'an. When Victoria discovers he is married, she invites his wife and mother-in-law to join him to England. They arrive wearing black burqas, to the consternation of the household.

As Victoria's interest in India grows, she has the Durbar Room built at her Isle of Wight home of Osborne House for state functions. It is elaborately decorated with carvings by Bhai Ram Singh in an intricate style, with a carpet from Agra, formal portraits of renowned Indians, and a replica of the Peacock Throne.

While Victoria treats Abdul as a son, his preferment is resented by her household and inner circle, including her son Bertie and the prime minister. The household plots to undermine their relationship, hoping that Abdul will be sent home. When Victoria embarrasses herself by recounting to the court the one-sided account of the Indian Mutiny that Abdul had told her, Victoria's faith and trust in him are shaken and she decides he must go home. But soon after, she changes her mind and asks him to stay.

The prime minister is adamant that the royal household must find a way to get rid of Abdul. They research his family background in India and present Victoria with a dossier to show that his family is more ordinary and poor than Abdul has told her. When Victoria insists her doctor examine Abdul to find out why his wife has not become pregnant, he discovers that Abdul has gonorrhea and rushes to tell the queen, expecting her to dismiss him in disgust. However, Victoria remains loyal to Abdul and admonishes her courtiers for plotting against him. She tells the household that she intends to give Abdul a knighthood.

Eventually, the household decides that if Victoria does not break with Abdul they will all resign. They also threaten to certify Victoria as insane. When Victoria is told, she angrily summons the entire household to the Durbar Room and demands that anyone who wants to resign step forward. When none do so, she tells them she has decided not to make Abdul a knight, but to include him in her next honours list as a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.

When Victoria falls ill, she urges Abdul to return to India, while she can still protect him. She warns him that when she dies, the court will turn on him, but Abdul insists that he will stay with Victoria until the end of her life. In 1901, Victoria dies, and her son Bertie, now Edward VII, rejects Abdul, burning all the gifts and papers he has received from the Queen, and sending him and his family back to India. Abdul's wife manages to save the locket for him.

It is revealed that Abdul lived in India until his death eight years later in 1909. The film ends with Abdul kneeling at a large statue of Queen Victoria close to the Taj Mahal, talking to it and kissing its feet in respect.

Cast

• Judi Dench as Queen Victoria
• Ali Fazal as Abdul Karim (the Munshi)
• Tim Pigott-Smith as Henry Ponsonby
• Eddie Izzard as Bertie, Prince of Wales
• Adeel Akhtar as Mohammed
• Michael Gambon as Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
• Paul Higgins as Sir James Reid, 1st Baronet
• Olivia Williams as Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill
• Fenella Woolgar as Harriet Phipps
• Julian Wadham as Alick Yorke
• Robin Soans as Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham
• Simon Callow as Giacomo Puccini
• Simon Paisley Day as Mr. Tyler
• Amani Zardoe as Princess Helena of the United Kingdom
• Sophie Trott as Sophia of Prussia
• Penny Ryder as Sophia of Nassau
• Joe Caffrey as Sous Chef
• Tim McMullan as Tailor
• Jonathan Harden as Wilhelm II, German Emperor
• John Rowe as Head Waiter

Production

On 17 June 2016, it was reported that Judi Dench would play Queen Victoria in Victoria & Abdul, a film based on the book of the same name by Shrabani Basu. Stephen Frears was set to direct.^[4] Dench had also portrayed Victoria in the 1997 film Mrs Brown.^[4] On 5 August 2016, it was announced that Ali Fazal would play Victoria's confidant Abdul Karim, while the film would be co-produced by Working Title Films and BBC Films, and co-financed by BBC and Focus Features.^[5] Focus also handles U.S. distribution rights, while Universal Pictures International handles all other countries. The script was written by Lee Hall, and the producers are Beeban Kidron, Tracey Seaward, Tim Bevan, and Eric Fellner, while the other cast includes Eddie Izzard, Michael Gambon, Tim Pigott-Smith, and Adeel Akhtar.^[5]

Costumes from the production were on display at Osborne House, from 24 July until 30 September 2017.^[8] To capitalise on the renewed interest in Victoria arising from both the film and the concurrent second season of ITV's Victoria television series, the Isle of Wight Tourist Board has created a 'Victoria's Island Trail' encouraging tourists to visit the key locations on the island that have connections to the Queen.^[9]

The production also filmed at The Chatham Historic Dockyard, Kent on HMS Gannet and the quayside adjacent to the ship.^[10]

Release

Victoria & Abdul was released for audiences in the United Kingdom on 15 September 2017.

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 66% based on 175 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site’s critical consensus reads, "Victoria & Abdul reunites Dame Judi Dench with the role of Queen Victoria — which is all this period drama needs to overcome its imbalanced narrative."^[11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[12]

In the Women's Voices for Change, Alexandra MacAaron, who rated the movie eight out of ten, wrote that "Judi Dench's Oscar-worthy second turn as Queen Victoria is a poignant portrait of fading power and human connection."^[13] Christopher Orr's response from The Atlantic was positive, and he wrote "Victoria & Abdul is worth seeing for Dench's magisterial performance and for Frears's light but sure directorial touch. Just don't mistake it for actual history."^[14]

Writing for The Independent, Amrou Al-Kadhi was highly critical: "Films like Victoria & Abdul seek to absolve our barbaric behaviour in colonised countries." He criticised the white-washing of the British Raj and the "offensive two-dimensionality" of Abdul's character, who is shown kissing the feet of Queen Victoria and expressing gratitude for being among the "glorious people" of the British Empire.^[15]

In the Daily Express, critic Andy Lea rated the film two out of five, describing Abdul's character as "disappointingly servile" and criticising the plot as "decent material for a knockabout farce", but praising Dench as "predictably brilliant".^[16] In his 4-out-of-4-rated review, Rex Reed in the New York Observer wrote: "Judi Dench gives a touching, majestic performance" and, complimenting the script and direction, he said that "every scene is gorgeous to look at, every shot magnificently detailed and richly framed. And the exemplary performances are as good as it gets in movies today."^[17]

Accolades

References

External links

• {{Official website}}
• {{IMDb title|5816682}}

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