Judi Dench Ali Farzal Michael Gambon Tim Piggot-Smith Eddie Izzard Olivia Williams
Victoria and Abdul is sumptuously filmed under
the fine direction of Stephen Frears, with cinematographer Danny Cohen. Alan MacDonald (production design),
Sara Finlay and Adam Squires (art direction) give us the opportunity to live
for a time in royal luxury and splendor against the backdrop of the lush
English countryside. But all of this
beauty is offset, sadly, by the rancor and prejudice shown to Abdul (Ali
Farzal) by the Queen’s staff and relatives. Abdul was an Indian commoner who
had become a favorite of Queen Victoria when she requested two Indian men be
brought to her to be her servants.
It appears that she was curious about another culture and thought that,
as Empress of India at the time, she needed to know something about it. She and Abdul seemed to hit it off
right away, and he began to instruct her in Urdu and the Koran and “anything
else he could think of” (in her words).
This elevated him from wait staff to being her “munshi” (teacher), and
during the 15 years of their acquaintance, she continued to promote him and
give him honors.
Queen Victoria was much more enamored by her
husband Albert than her children, and because of her regal responsibilities, he
became the primary parent to their nine children. Because his German background placed an emphasis on
discipline and education, he tried valiantly to instill those values in his
children, especially his oldest son and heir to the throne, “Bertie”, Prince of
Wales, who would become Edward VII.
Unfortunately for him, Bertie was very different from his older sister
Vickie who absorbed her father’s teachings like a sponge; he was so
oppositional he appeared to be a dullard, which is how he is portrayed in the
film.
Since the Queen had delegated responsibility
for the children to her husband, they were not especially devoted to her. So when Abdul appeared on the scene and
was so attentive and worshipful, her maternal instincts were kindled, and he
became a favorite, much to the consternation of those around her who had been
schooled in proper English society and held disdain for brown-skinned people in
British colonies.
This account—“based on a true story…mostly”—of
an interesting period late in Queen Victoria’s long reign, is interesting in
its illustration of the power of the Queen—even in her old age—her
egalitarianism despite the culture around her, a picture of how fawning and
self-serving people close to her had become, and how race/class/religious
prejudice was so prominent in Victorian England. It asks us once again, “How long will discrimination against
colored people and lower socio-economic classes continue? Because it’s still all around us today.
Judi Dench is again her own inimitable,
consummate portrayer of a real person.
She shines, as always, and Ali Farzal as Abdul, is an able foil. We become rapt in their relationship,
and although there are countless others in all the scenes, they fade in
comparison to our fascination with the solid, rather unconventional,
friendship.
Although I found most of the film to be
top-notch quality, there were times when the film seemed to lapse into parody
or a farce when I wanted it to maintain its seriousness and depth.
A successful period film that exposes
the underside of what period films typically convey.
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