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 & 11 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:

Based on an extraordinary true story.

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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 Official site [Japan]

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 and Michael Gambon both appeared in Cranford (2007).

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Goofs

When Victoria died, her oldest grandchild, The Kaiser, was wearing a German uniform. In those days he and most all royals went to great lengths to dress in honorary uniforms of the host country. He would have been in civilian clothes or a British uniform.

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Quotes

[as Queen Victoria reaches for her stamp, Abdul grabs it for her instead]
Queen Victoria: Thank you, Mr...
Abdul Karim: Abdul. Abdul Karim.
[Queen Victoria continues to write her letters]
Abdul Karim: I am always writing.
[Queen Victoria looks at him]
Abdul Karim: In India, I'm writing, a-all day, every day.
Queen Victoria: So in India, you are not a servant?
Abdul Karim: No. In India, I'm writing in my very big book.
Queen Victoria: You're writing a book?
[...]

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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 and Arthur Sullivan
Arranged by Terry Davies
Performed by Judi Dench and Eddie Izzard

User Reviews

Surprisingly endearing

My wife and I attended a preview screening last night with no preconceived ideas about the movie, not having even seen a trailer.

We were immediately drawn in and pleasantly surprised by the story, even though we thought it may have been a little far fetched. Until we found that it is a biography and mostly fact. That made the story even sweeter.

Dame Judy Dench's acting was peerless as usual, but by far the biggest revelation was Ali Fazal, who put in a wonderful performance from comedic through emotionally intense.

There was so much I didn't know about Queen Victoria's twilight years that this movie put into perspective, in a way that was consistently entertaining. We laughed and cried. Highly recommended.