An endearing historical drama...

| Aug 12, 2021

If the recent film mother! was an attempt, as one writer suggested, "to shock its audiences out of complacency," Victoria & Abdul is an attempt to lull its audience into complacency.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 1, 2021

Victoria and Abdul exposes itself as being just as shallow as the bigots it derides; the only difference is the purity of its intentions.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Oct 1, 2020

It doesn't eventually ring true at all because the complexities of history and colonial oppression are beyond Victoria & Abdul.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 23, 2020

[I]t's clear that the film doesn't paint [Abdul] as a fleshed-out person. He's just a queen's cultural boy toy.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 23, 2020

Dench's performance shows that she was born to play the most popular monarchs in the history of the UK, as his second performance as Queen Victoria is a wonderful thing. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 27, 2020

I'll give director Frears credit for understanding that there are few things more engaging than listening to and watching Dench simply speak, and when he concentrates on that, the film in infinitely better.

| May 14, 2020

Judi Dench is fabulous as Queen Victoria. She's the reason to see this film.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 24, 2020

Judi Dench is a force like no other on the big screen.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 26, 2019

Oversimplification of geopolitical issues aside, Victoria & Abdul is a light, charming entertainment that features yet another stunning performance by Dench.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 4, 2019

As gorgeous as the film is, it is still Dench's performance that really rivets.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 26, 2019

This stacked cast and gentle sense of humour, with a keen eye trained on the absurdities of British formality, ensure that Victoria and Abdul is consistently entertaining despite being inescapably generic.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 22, 2019

I don't believe Victoria & Abdul was meant to be presented on an investigative level and pass judgment about the past; it doesn't pretend to be responsible, which is why I didn't mind its familiar templates and young emotions.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 30, 2019

Dench once again proves even the lightest of films can be elevated by her impeccable presence.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 30, 2019

This tale of a young Indian servant who catches the eye of the old queen and ends up her favourite means well, but isn't enough of an irritant to the Establishment.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Nov 23, 2018

Victoria and Abdul is a well above average biopic featuring a royal (Dame Judy) Dench at the top of her game.

| Nov 7, 2018

Let Victoria & Abdul in, and it will warm your heart and reignite your faith in humanity.

| Nov 6, 2018

While Victoria & Abdul does tell the story of an inspiring friendship, it comes wrapped in an odious package of colonialist sentimentality.

| Original Score: C+ | Nov 1, 2018

Fatally shifts its focal gaze away from the viewpoint of Abdul to being told from the perspective of the head of the British Empire, which is a far less interesting angle.

| Oct 31, 2018

Not one of Stephen Frears' finest hours, I'm afraid.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 5, 2018