Victoria & Abdul Review

PG-13 for some thematic elements and language

Focus Features, BBC Films, Perfect World Pictures, Working Title Films, Cross Street Films

1 Hr and 52 Minutes

Dir: Stephen Frear | Writer: Lee Hall

Cast: Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Eddie Izzard, Adeel Akhtar, Michael Gambon

INTRO: Stephen Frears is back with another biopic comedy. Last year he directed one of my favorite 2016 films, Florence Foster Jenkins and now he’s doing a biopic of Queen Victoria with ‘Victoria & Abdul’ with Dame Judi Dench whom he worked with in 2013’s ‘Philomena.’ 

The extraordinary true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria's (Academy Award winner Judi Dench) remarkable rule. When Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen's Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favor with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.

THE GOOD

FREARS FOR LAUGHING TEARS

When it comes to his biopics, Frears has a knack for going to the comedic route when telling his stories. Despite his more recent projects being based on real events, he has proven himself to be a great director of English comedies. I’m thoroughly surprised that Frears hasn’t directed an Aardman movie yet. I swear his films are on the same humorous level of an Aardman film for it has a silly and playful tone from beginning to end. The movie briefly becomes ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’ because by have a sequence of Dench singing poorly but the people who respect her cheer because they have to.

ROYAL PERFORMANCES

This is Dame Judi Dench’s second outing portraying Queen Victoria, and she performs a high caliber as a queen. What makes her performance so strong is her character’s kindheartedness towards Abdul. She's become way too welcoming to Abdul once she genuinely meets him after being his servant for a little while l so that she becomes obsessed with his Indian culture. She changes her palace around to revolve all around Abdul and his lifestyle. The film never addresses if she was rather infatuated or not but its there for your interpretation. This movie might as well should've been called ‘VICTORIA & abdul’ because this movie is primarily Dench’s movie. It's all Victoria and barely any Abdul.

Abdul’s character (believe it or not) is pretty much Aladdin. He’s not a thief but more of an optimist and outlook on the world. Everyone else, on the other hand, are even at all. From the prime minister to the son of the queen, when I say racist, he is incredibly racist to point he might as well be a conservative. 

Comedic actor Eddie Izzard gives a great dramatic performance as Prince Bertie of Wales AKA the biggest asshole in the movie. Izzard puts on some weight for he is unrecognizable as himself and looks like a British Nick Offerman while acting cunning, manipulative, and downright cruel from beginning to end. Never for a moment, he acknowledges Abdul through dialogue because of his racism.

THE BAD

With ‘Florence Foster Jenkins,’ you had this story that was absurd with a lead that made the concept more humorous than expected. With 'Victoria & Abdul,' you have a straightforward story that should have a grand amount of depth, but the entire film plays as a repetitious one-note joke. This is a screwball comedy where its tone is mostly all over the place. One second its uproariously funny but then in an instant, the film escalates to a dramatic effect. Some stories would be better off as a severe film due to its subject matter, and this is one of those movies that deviate from that when honestly it shouldn’t.

LAST STATEMENT

Riddled with exceptional performances from Dench and Izzard who make up for a lot of the film’s shortcomings, ‘Victoria & Abdul’ is a one-note historical comedy that could've stood out if it wasn't too busy running jokes ever so often.

Rating: 3/5 | 62% 

Super Scene: "So who is going to confront her?"