There are only a handful of actors who dramatically increase the quality of a film simply with their presence. Without the casting of Judi Dench as Queen Victoria in “Victoria and Abdul,” the period film from director Stephen Frears would have been a passable story of how a woman, strangled by the confines of the monarchy, manages to reach out beyond the palace walls. Dench is such acting royalty that she elevates the tale to a more regal level.
“Victoria and Abdul” looks at the later years of Queen Victoria’s rule at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Her constant concerns about world politics and family issues have left her in a despondent state. This changes when a young Indian clerk, Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), travels to England to be part of the queen’s Golden Jubilee. What is supposed to be a short ceremony becomes a deep friendship as Queen Victoria convinces Abdul to become her spiritual adviser known as the Munshi.
The disregard for what has been normal protocol sends the staff and family members into a spin. None is more upset than her son Bertie (Eddie Izzard), the Prince of Wales. Despite all of the efforts to separate the pair, the relationship continues for 15 years.
Frears has already shown he has a knack for pulling back the royal robes to expose the more human side of the monarchy through his 2006 film “The Queen,” which focused on Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) after the death of Princess Diana. As he did with that film, Frears shows with “Victoria and Abdul” that behind all the pomp and circumstance are people who live, love and laugh like anyone else on the planet.
Dench brings so much to every word, wink and walk that it puts extreme pressure on those around her. Fazal has established himself in the Bollywood world but his being cast as Abdul gave him the biggest acting challenges of his career. He responds with a performance that doesn’t get overshadowed by the work Dench does.
He has the tough task of playing an eternal optimist. This is not easy because he had to find the right amount of energy to counter the funk that has encompassed the queen without going too far and making the role a caricature. Fazal manages to do that and in the process makes the scenes with Dench even stronger.
Hall’s script never digs into any examination of how this unique relationship impacted the political, social and economic elements of the time. The approach is more like one used to make a Hallmark romance movie, where the story stays at a superficial layer allowing the connections and misconnections between the players tell the story.
Frears could get away with that because of Dench. Her acting gravitas is strong enough to make even the lightest of stories automatically feel like they have more girth. And that’s what happens with “Victoria and Abdul.”
MOVIE REVIEW
“Victoria and Abdul”
Grade: B
Starring Judi Dench, Ali Fazal and Eddie Izzard, Tim Pigott-Smith. Directed by Stephen Frears.
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, language. Check listings for theaters. 1 hour, 52 minutes.
Bottom line: A light look at a relationship between two very different people
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