Dame Judi: Queen of the Screen

By JBFC Marketing Volunteer Dotty Battel

Dench, now 82….”remains the world’s most formidable pixie, and in Victoria & Abdul she’s in her element….” (Variety)

It’s 1887 and the long-reigning Queen Victoria, old, fat, and, lonely has just about given up on life when Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal) a young Indian Muslim clerk journeys to London to present her with a gift on her Golden Jubilee. And so begins an unlikely friendship that rejuvenates her spirit and lasts until her death.

This little-known, fascinating real-life tale has been brought to glorious life on the big screen by another remarkable duo: Judi Dench, reprising the role of Victoria after 2 decades (Mrs Brown, 1997), working again with Stephen Frears who directed her to an Oscar nomination in Philomena.

Enjoy a clip of Dench and Fazal discussing the film:

Is it a comedy, a drama, a documentary? See the film and decide!

Victoria and Abdul opens at the JBFC on Friday, Sept. 29.