Victoria & Abdul (2017)

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Kinda insulting to IndianaKinda insulting to Indiana

Abdul Karim and a colleague are imported from India to make a presentation to Queen Victoria. Long after Prince Albert and her friend John Brown died, the Queen is old, tired, depressed and bored, and the introduction of the Indian piques her interest: he becomes a Court favourite to the consternation and annoyance of her Head of Household, the Prime Minster, and her son and first in line for the throne. The film tells of their relationship and the background politicking against Karim up to Victoria's death and Karim's return to India.This film is, in many ways, a sequel to Mrs Brown, Judi Dench's 1997 first entry as Queen Victoria and, in some respects, treads similar ground as regards a friendship regarded by some as "inappropriate." This one is quite funny - the audience was frequently chuckling.The script is good and the cast are excellent with, of course Dench on particularly good form as the aged monarch. The story is true - "mostly", as it says at the start - and, if so, the behaviour of certain individuals after Victoria's death is reprehensible.Showings at my local (Isle of Wight) cinema were packed, what with location filming taking place at Victoria's holiday hideaway at Osborne House on the Island, and reactions from the mostly elderly audience were very positive. And I enjoyed it very much despite it not being my type of film.

The first thing anyone will say after watching this movie is how utterly amazing Judi Dench is, and rightly so, she ones again dons the robes of Queen Victoria and gives a commanding performance as one of the most famous monarchs. A performance worthy of an Oscar, she is an actress with unrivalled talent. This film is so much more then Dench's performance, spellbinding though it was.Ali Fazal, also worthy of accolades and awards, for his superb performance as Indian servant Abdul Karim. His performance is actually rather captivating, The Queen was taken under his spell and as a viewer so was I. Such an intriguing, fascinating character, probably unlike any other man she'd ever encountered.Superb production values throughout, the film was visually dazzling, sumptuous settings, jaw dropping costumes, this was a treat for the senses.A film is meant to move, and allow for escapism, when it can educate as well, it's worth of the elevated sore of 10/10.Absolutely loved it.

2/4/18. What a beautiful and true story of a very unlikely friendship that crosses many cultural borders at the time. Of course, today, this would be just as unlikely as it was then, but it is a true wonder that this story was ever told at all. Does not paint a good picture of Queen Victoria's children who mistreated the aging queen with such disrespect and Abdul with such racist disdain. The true story of what Victoria's children did, expunge any trace of the friendship Victoria had with Abdul, is a cautionary tale of how adult children should not treat their aging parents. It's called parental abuse. Today such a friendship would be fodder for the tabloids, but at least it would have been told. Well done and worth seeing.