Victoria & Abdul (2017)

I saw Victoria & Abdul at a preview the day before it opened and found it to be captivating. I try to catch anything from Stephen Frears -- most recently seeing The Queen, The Deal, and Philomena -- but this film resembles a crown jewel in the career of Dame Judi Dench, particularly in the scene where she (again as Victoria, though now much older) mourns losing the love of her life (though I have not yet seen her in Mrs. Brown). Indeed, Victoria & Abdul opens with a Victoria so aged and corpulent that a phalanx of servants must literally hoist her from bed, ply her with clothes, and trundle her to the dining hall -- where food, her one remaining pleasure, gradually reveals the droll comedic moments that festoon this historical drama. Abdul, a civil servant in British-ruled India, is selected to travel two months by ship to present a token gift to Victoria on her 50th anniversary as queen; he is of common birth, but intelligent, self-taught, and compassionate. He and the Queen establish a rapport outside of the boundaries of protocol and politics; they become all but inseparable; he is even alone with her at her death bed. This is a movie about finding a close relationship of trust where none was expected; setting aside strictures and rules for growth and opportunities; and standing for one's beliefs, even when outnumbered, even as the Queen. The historic events in this film occurred around 1900, but Abdul's papers (and hence his part in history) were not discovered until 2010. Enjoy! 5 stars. (9-26-2017)