Victoria & Abdul
First screened in October 2017
Director: Stephen Frears. Cast: Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Eddie Izzard, Tim Pigott-Smith, Paul Higgins, Adeel Akhtar, Michael Gambon, Olivia Williams, Fenella Woolgar, Ruth McCabe, Julian Wadham, Robin Soans, Sukh Ojla, Sally Jokhan, Kemaal Deen-Ellis, Simon Callow. Screenplay: Lee Hall (based on the book Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant by Shrabani Basu).

Twitter Capsule: I expected pandering pap but this is weirder. Itchy about its hero, its tone, and its story. Patchily assembled.

VOR:   Every time it gets close to something interesting (Victoria's eros, Ali's duplicity) it retreats into false tones and revised histories. Shoddy.



Photo © 2017 Focus Features/Working Title Films/BBC Films

Not yet reviewed in full. Grade: C–


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