VICTORIA & ABDUL

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.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS

Meryl Streep     Hugh Grant     Simon Helberg

              Stephen Frears has created a farce about a woman who is tone-deaf, but imagines she can sing beautifully—something someone might see on television’s “The Voice”, actually.  But the difference here is that thousands are taking part in her delusion in a folie à deux-mille.  Granted, at one concert it requires a brassy woman from Brooklyn to whistle at everyone who’s laughing, and make them shush and listen with respect.  This is one of the finest moments in the movie when she makes clear what the film is about:  That matching Florence’s own generosity and warm-heartedness should be returned in full.  This film is based on a true story in which a wealthy woman insists on giving concerts when she has no talent.  But she was surrounded by her people—some who were sycophants and some who genuinely cared for her—and we’re told at the end of the film that the recordings made by Foster Jenkins are some of the most requested from the Carnegie Hall Archives.  So the woman’s popularity is not made up.  I think this is the only instance in movies I’ve seen that generosity and warm-heartedness trumps critical opinion and analysis.  (Bravo! Florence Foster Jenkins!)

         For someone who can really sing, pulling off an off-key performance must be extremely difficult, but of course the ever-talented Meryl Streep has no problem.  As Florence, she screeches, whinnies, and groans like the worst of them (bad singers)—all with an earnest face and magnanimous heart.  I understand from one of her interviews that she actually had to learn to sing the arias the right way before she began to sing them purposefully off key.  She and Hugh Grant make a loving pair in a union with perhaps the same level of denial that is shown toward her voice:  Of course, it’s perfect!  They play the two characters like the old pros they are.

              Almost as much of a star in this film as Streep is Simon Helberg, who plays the role of pianist for Foster Jenkins.  His facial expressions are something to behold, from the time he first hears Florence sing to the end when disbelief and feeling aghast evolves into surrender and love.  We laugh at his horror about as much as we laugh at Streep’s voice.

        Earlier this year, I saw another rendition of the Florence Foster Jenkins story (Marguerite, a French-Czech-Belgium production directed by Xavier Giannoli and starring Catherine Frot.)  Frears has clearly gone for more of a comedic touch—a hearty laugh compared with Giannoli’s smile.  I like both treatments—they make for interesting contrasts—but in both I wearied of listening to the grating sounds that come from the actress’s voices.  Is there anything worse than bad singing of operatic arias? 

Allow yourself to be drawn into a delusion.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE PROGRAM

Ben Foster     Chris O’Dowd     Dustin Hoffman     Jesse Clemons

          The Program’s opening scene is stark, showing a lone cyclist in the distance huffing and puffing up a steep road in the snow-covered Alps.  Lance Armstrong, the seven-time winner of the Tour de France only to be stripped of his titles years later for doping, has a desire, a hunger, to be a winner.  Soon after, we see him playing a game with a British reporter named David Walsh (O’Dowd), with the stakes that if Walsh loses to Armstrong (Foster), he has to shave off his beard.  Upon winning, Armstrong insists that Walsh follow through, which says a lot about the characters of both men.  Walsh does shave it off, but becomes relentless in pursuing a case against Armstrong for doping.

       The Program, directed by Stephen Frears (High Fidelity, The Queen, Philomena), is based on David Walsh’s novel with a screenplay by John Hodge.  It chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of the champion after overcoming testicular cancer with brain metastases and setting up a charity, Live Strong, to help others with the disease.  His decline resounded more loudly partly because of Armstrong’s cockiness and partly because he defended himself so vociferously for so long, even sacrificing some personal and professional relationships in the process.  After he brought a suit against Walsh and his newspaper, which resulted in Walsh being fired, two of his fellow cyclists who had been friends/colleagues but whom he had dumped along the way, testified against him, issuing in the beginning of the end.

      After an investigation ended in 2012, a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency decided that Armstrong had indeed used “performance-enhancing drugs” throughout his cycling competitions and banned him from competing in any sport that followed its code.  They stripped him of his titles as well.

       And Lance Armstrong did after many years ultimately acknowledge the doping, saying, his was “a mythic, perfect story, but it wasn’t true.”

Although many of us followed the news about Lance Armstrong and the pervasiveness of doping in cycling (in a context where most of the cycling leaders kept overlooking it), Frears’ movie gives a concise and interesting account of all the events, highlighting the kind of man Armstrong is and all the factors that led up to the outcome.  Ben Foster has an uncanny physical resemblance to Armstrong, and his acting skills in portraying the man are impressive. 

The Program is a good dramatization of the life so far of Lance Armstrong, the legendary cyclist.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

PHILOMENA

Judi Dench     Steve Coogan     Sophie Kennedy Clark

Mare Winningham     Barbara Jefford     Ruth McCabe

  

     Philomena is a detective story, in a way, that involves Philomena (Judi Dench) trying to find the son whose birth she has kept secret for 50 years, and whom she was forced to give up when she became pregnant at a young age.  But it is also about religious faith, the ethics of journalism, aging, and forgiveness.  When she decides to tell her secret, Philomena is an old woman, and by chance, her path crosses that of a journalist (Steve Coogan) who needs a job.  Human-interest stories are far from what he wants to do, but he has no choice.  So the two become partners in trying to locate the son.

     As the story unfolds, we find out more and more about Philomena’s life as well as her son’s.  The journey takes them from Ireland to the U.S., where they stay longer than they intended because the story keeps pulling them along.  The story, which is based on real people and real events (The Lost Child of Philomena by Martin Sixsmith) is the strongest part of the film, along with the two actors, Dench and Coogan.  They have that wonderful chemistry, where they clash and bounce off one another and then have moments of deep compassion and understanding.  Steve Coogan wrote the screenplay with Jeff Pope, and it is truly a work of art in its depiction of life and people in a fascinating reality. 

     Stephen Frears, the director, has films of high quality to his credit, some of which have become hits, and I think this one will be very popular as well if it receives wide distribution.  Philomena combines intrigue, humor, strong emotional pulls, and life experiences that most people can identify with and relate to.  Moreover, it probes a bit into religious beliefs and practices that will evoke strong differences of opinion, just as it does between Philomena and Martin.  In the end, viewers will likely side with either Philomena on the side of forgiveness or Martin on the side of outrage, but in any case, are very likely to leave the theater feeling very moved and upbeat. 

This story is based on real people and real events.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland