MOVIE REVIEW/PERIOD PIECE

A Must see Movie, ‘Victoria and Abdul?’

I tried desperately to find a pic from the movie to showcase, but couldn’t find one anywhere. ‘Queen Victoria and Abdul’ is now showing on Netflix, even though it came out in Sept. 2021.

As the move says, ‘it’s based on facts, mostly.’

The renowned British actress Judi Dench portrays Queen Victoria of England who reigned from 1837 — until her death in 1901.’ Ali Fazal plays the handsome Indian Abdul Karim who she soon names her, “Munshi,” or teacher. Abdul meets and befriends the 80 year old queen 4 years after the death of her beloved confidante John Brown, a Scot, who was the 1st suitor who came along after the death of her much loved husband, King Albert.

My husband watched the first five minutes with me and he began to give me the historical background on her because he’s a history buff.

He told me that at this time in Victoria’s reign, it’s written that she was in a funk, what we now know is depression. She had become tired of living since she’d lost everyone she’d truly loved, and she was barely performing her royal duties.

Ten minutes into it, I was beginning to wonder if it was going to be somewhat of a comedy as there are chuckles throughout starting when Abdul and his companion are in steerage aboard a ship that’s making it’s way to England. Most of India feels as Abdul’s companion does about the queen, but Abdul has a positive open attitude about the voyage and about meeting Her Majesty.

Karim and his companion’s mission is to present her with an Indian coin from India to commemorate her 50th year on the throne. He was picked as she had specifically asked for a tall Indian. It isn’t clear how his companion ended up being selected.

When Abdul presents the coin at the royal banquet, he breaks protocol by smiling at the 80 year old Queen, and she notices and is secretly flattered. It’s understandable as he is extremely handsome and soon she starts to summon him and their long journey to get to know each other begins.

Abdul ingratiates himself to the queen by treating her first like a person and then like a Queen and she responds willingly to him as she has been hungry for someone she could actually like, who could make her feel alive again.

The rest of the queen’s royal staff, including many of her 9 grown children, treat her like Her Majesty as they kowtow to her every word and glance while they try to keep her attention on the myriad of tedious royal duties. Abdul doesn’t mimic much of their treatment because to him, she is a respectable woman 1st, who just happens to be the queen, and he sees how lonely she is.

As the story unfolds the two of them develop a charming close friendship that transcends their differences of race, class and religion. Besides being a lower class Indian, Karim is a Muslim so his presence in the palace sparks prejudice, indignation and blatant racism from everyone else in the palace. Karim’s companion understands this while Karim remains indifferent, which allows us to see the angst his relationship with her is causing everyone else.

As Queen Victoria grows more fond of Karim she quickly promotes him to her Munshi, which inflames her children and the entire royal staff. She then stirs their fires of indignation even further by having he and his companion serve her at her Golden Jubilee celebration.

We soon see the more Abdul upsets Her Majesty’s household, the more the queen indulges him and soon he is not only dining and living in the palace, but he is traveling with her and attending out of state events.

The coup de grace’ begins to unfold near the end so I won’t spoil it for you, but you know all this unrest she has caused must reach a crescendo and this movie doesn’t disappoint. Keep in mind it’s based on facts about the queen’s life that were discovered years later which resulted in a book being written by historian Carolly Erickson, ‘Her Little Majesty.’

If you like period pieces, such as Downton Abbey, The Gilded Age, and Bridgerton, this movie should delight you as it did me! I found it almost impossible to pause, which is something I usually do often while watching movies. Judi Dench’s portrayal of the queen and Ali Fazal’s performance are award winning. They succeeded in winning my heart over with their uncanny relationship as they caused me to forget about their many differences.

I don’t think it will matter whether you’re Christian, Muslin, or Buddhist, you will enjoy this movie. And when it’s over, if you’re anything like me— you will find yourself wanting more.

Thank you for reading and thoughtful writing everyone!