Victoria & Abdul (2017)

Queen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim.

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers:

Lee Hall (screenplay by), Shrabani Basu (based on the book by)

Stars:

Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Tim Pigott-Smith

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Judi Dench	...	Queen Victoria
Ali Fazal	...	Abdul Karim
Tim Pigott-Smith	...	Sir Henry Ponsonby
Eddie Izzard	...	Bertie, Prince of Wales
Adeel Akhtar	...	Mohammed
Michael Gambon	...	Lord Salisbury
Paul Higgins	...	Dr. Reid
Olivia Williams	...	Lady Churchill
Fenella Woolgar	...	Miss Phipps
Julian Wadham	...	Alick Yorke
Robin Soans	...	Arthur Bigge
Ruth McCabe	...	Mrs. Tuck
Simon Callow	...	Puccini
Sukh Ojla	...	Mrs. Karim
Kemaal Deen-Ellis	...	Ahmed

Storyline

Abdul Karim arrives from India to participate in Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. The young clerk is surprised to find favor with the queen herself. As Victoria questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance that her household and inner circle try to destroy. As their friendship deepens, the queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes, joyfully reclaiming her humanity.

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Plot Keywords:

unlikely friendship | queen of england | muslim | royal court | courtier | 

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Taglines:

An extraordinary tale of a queen and her new best friend.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Urdu Hindi

Release Date:

6 October 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Victoria y Abdul

Filming Locations:

Cairngorms, Highland, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$158,845, 24 September 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$22,245,070, 4 January 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, Cross Street Films, Perfect World Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Judi Dench played Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998) as well as Queen Victoria in Mrs Brown (1997) an this film.

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Goofs

Victoria said she was ruler of "nearly a billion people". The English language adopted this Americanism for 1000 million only in the 1990s.

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Quotes

Queen Victoria: I am 81 years of age. I've had nine children and 42 grandchildren, and have almost a billion citizens. I have rheumatism, a collapsed uterus, I'm morbidly obese and deaf in one ear. I have known 11 Prime Ministers and passed 2,347 pieces of legislation. I've been in office 62 years, 234 days. Thus, I am the longest-serving monarch in world history. I'm responsible for five households and a staff of over 3,000. I am cantankerous, boring, greedy, fat, ill-tempered, at times selfish and myopic, ...

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Crazy Credits

The title doesn't appear until 16 minutes into the movie.

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Connections

Follows Mrs Brown (1997)

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Soundtracks

I'm Called Little Buttercup
Written by W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
Arranged by Terry Davies
Performed by Judi Dench & Eddie Izzard

User Reviews

That Dame can act!

Some good performances to support another superb performance by Judy Dench. Izzard was a revelation.

Good pace, good camera work - More history well told than masterpiece, but a good night out.

More comedic lines than I was expecting. Is the racism at the core of the film as much about class as religion?