Victoria and Abdul

(Stephen Frears/2017/UK)

Having come to light after over a hundred years the remarkable story of the relationship between Queen Victoria and an Indian servant, Abdul Karim, whom she elevated to her inner circle, was crying out to be adapted to film. Frears makes a good fist of it with his ability to present and observe without any explicit directorial comment but the film suffers from an imbalance in the characterisations. Essentially we knows loads about Queen Victoria so Judy Dench can knock it out of the park but Abdul is a rather two dimensional foil. This is nothing to do with Ali Fazal’s capabilities as an actor but I suspect more to do with a selective use of material belying who the man was. Frears recreates events and situations which we know happened but as to the character and motivations of the man himself the Abdul onscreen lacks a little depth. Particularly problematic is his contextualisation as a happy servant of the empire which approaches a revisionism I’d not expect from a director like Frears. The man was more complex and made up, like us all, of emotional and mental strata that shape a more rounded character. There is evidence that Abdul displayed some arrogance, possibly a defensive stance towards the negative attitude of the royal staff towards him, and he certainly garnered favours for both his father and an old employer back in India which suggest a degree of manipulation of his privileged position but this doesn’t fit the vibe here.

The film is very much a light-hearted portrayal of the Queen in her twilight years with the affection and warmth of her friendship with Abdul the focus, as is the vitriol and bigotry of the royal staff towards him. Again this approaches revisionism unworthy of Frears because it places Victoria in a position of moral defender, fighting for his equal rights. As accurate as this may be inside the privacy of her own court outside in the real world she had presided over the imperial oppression of India. This isn’t Frears’ best work but it is a funny and engaging story however skewed or not fully reflecting actual events. Judy Dench is great as ever and steals the show.

(2.5/5)