Victoria & Abdul Movie Review: Fascinating Tale of a Friendship elevated with
Dench' mesmerising performance.
There is no
certain age limit to have unlikely friendships and learning a thing or few,
even though it's a remarkably close friendship between an ageing monarch of
England and her young Muslim attendant Munshi. The opening credit to 'Victoria
& Abdul' reads to "Based on real events … mostly," This film may not
be perfectly accurate, but it's certainly a funny, charming film showcasing the
details of Queen Victoria’s last years.
The Victoria and Abdul story
takes us into the pomp, high formality and the backstabbing era of Queen Victoria
beginning more or less around 1899, the last year and a half of her reign —
although its dramatic chronology claimed to start in 1887, therefore
drastically compressing the last 15 years of her life. Queen Victoria was the
longest reigning ruler in history, which has left her profoundly dull,
sharp-tempered, highly obese and falling asleep halfway through official
functions. The movie takes a turn when a humble young clerk Abdul Karim brings
the ceremonial gold coin carried from India to her Scottish summer castle to
mark the Golden Jubilee of her reign.
Because
he gets friendlier with her highness than the court protocol allowed, he was
prominently tall and handsome, and he arrives before her at the right moment
and creates a strong impression with bold eye contact. Abdul Karim is
everything for which she longed for in years for the youth, colour and novelty.
The handsome, bright Abdul, full of wise teachings and lovely stories from
India, is delighted to provide her with that youthful oriental edge of
diversity and a teacher-friend in a real sense. The rise of Abdul from a petty
clerk from India to the Queen's close friend is frowned upon by the Queen's
relatives,aides and officials and it triggers a backstage gossip. The reverence
is such that she is forbidden to basic human contact and things like simple
friendship and love are, if not denied, at least discouraged to the Queen. It’s
a wry, funny, likeable performance with gleams of sadness and mortality which
elevates the movie than its first impression as 'Tongue and cheek comedy'.
Victoria and Abdul's cast is
appealing, solely with the luminous presence of Judy Dench as Queen Victoria.
Dench again delivers a stunningly nuanced and complex performance as Victoria,
where sometimes she’s harsh and rough and at other times warm and worldly.
Dench's queen understands the power and burden of her throne, and she brings
might to the movie. Dench commands the Queen's role with ease and without
vanity. Ali Fazal's portrayal of Abdul is not simply the metaphor of wise
Indian friend with a mystical and spiritual oriental aura. In fact, the Fazal's
Abdul is an exciting blend of shrewdness and naivete. Eddie Izzard, as Bertie,
Prince of Wales, is especially cartoonish and performs something of a circus.
The
Victoria and Abdul is the prime shortcoming of this handsome, precisely
engineered production.
Director Stephen Frears, who dealt with simmering racial, culture and class
issues decades earlier in 'Dirty Little Things' and 'My Beautiful Laundrette,'
and takes a more decorous approach here, oozing glossy prestige. As goes the
Victoria and Abdul movie rating, the movie earns 3.5 stars out of 5. Victoria
& Abdul is a must-watch movie for Dench’s commanding performance and
Frear’s light and subtle directorial touch. Victoria & Abdul parallelly
capture the ugly side of Britain's colonial past but also showcasing the
foolishness of racism, the Victoria and Abdul story elevates from light-hearted
comedy to a lightweight drama.
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