What a peculiarly dodgy, conservative film this is – a lazy salute to a good queen and her faithful Indian servant. It’s a film about the Raj era that looks as if it was made back then, too.
A sorta-sequel to Mrs Brown deals effectively with another of Queen Victoria’s unconventional friendships and reprises Judi Dench’s powerful and unparalleled portrayal.
It's surprisingly effective.
Laughs and melancholy aplenty but the relationship between Victoria and Abdul is over romanticised.
Whatever liberties Frears and co may have taken with historical fact, [Dench's] performance feels utterly authentic.
Judi Dench’s poignant performance injects heart and soul into this strangely flippant, superficial affair.
Judi Dench inhabits the role of Queen Victoria in Stephen Frears’s latest revisionist offering.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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