Victoria & Abdul - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Victoria & Abdul

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Directed by Stephen Frears (who directed The Queen with Helen Mirren some years back), Victoria & Abdul is a strange “fish out of water” tail regarding one of history’s most prominent Queens of England. The all famous Queen Victoria. It seems that the story is partially based upon a series of true events wherein the Queen became enamored with India and one of its people during the latter part of her rein, but most of the details had been lost to history except for the fact that Abdul (said Indian she became enamored with) existed. However, in 2010 Abdul’s private journals were unearthed and the subsequent information within forms the groundwork for this modest little historical “romance”. I use quotation marks around the term romance due to the fact that Victoria & Abdul is really a love story, without any of the physical or “eros” aspects of normal romances. Instead it because the sweet story of friendship between two kindred spirits, one out of his element, and the other bored and tired of her own natural element. The movie sometimes is a bit over stuffed, and meanders a good bit, but Victoria & Abdul makes for a charming little drama that works as a solid rental/watch.

Holding the record as the world’s longest surviving Monarch, the crusty old Queen of England ruled from 1837 – to her passing in 1901 (also sadly mourning the 1861 death of her beloved husband, Prince Albert), but during her very early 80s the fat, aging, and cantankerous old lady took a shine to a young Indian peasant who had come over all the way from India to present the queen with a gifted coin for her service. Abdul (Ali Fazal) was just a poor peasant man who wrote down the log book of an Indian prison, but was chosen for his fateful task due to the fact that he cut an imposing figure and would “look right” for the job. When he got to England he was instructed to bow, present the gift, and then leave without ever making eye contact. Well, Abdul disobeyed, and with that eye lock caught the attention of the elderly queen. Victoria (Dame Judi Dench), who mentions that Abdul is “terribly handsome”, soon conscripts the one time messenger boy into her attache as a more permanent service.

What happens next is more fiction than reality, but Abdul and Victoria’s relationship doesn’t stop at making mildly cut comments to each other. The two define the phrase “opposites attract” and what happens next is the forming of a life long and binding friendship between two people who couldn’t be more opposite. Victoria is absolutely fascinated with India and the world of spices and color that she can’t experience outside of the royal household, while Abdul becomes her closest confidant and friend to the bitter end. However, this relationship is not without its detractors, especially from Bertie, the Prince of Wales (played magnificently by Eddie Izzard in a fat suit and huge beard). Her obsession terrifies the more traditional family members, as Abdul is a lower class citizen, and not only that, from a subjugated country who is filled with Muslims to boot. This forms a bit of a constant struggle for Abdul and Queen Victoria as their friendship requires enemies WITHIN the palace as much as from without.

Victoria & Abdul is a sweet story, but it also is a fairly innocuous and meandering experience as well. The film is just under 2 hours long, but really feels as if it could have been trimmed down to 90 minutes without a single problem. Initial lead up to the relationship is well done, and even the resulting “honeymoon” period between Abdul and Queen Victoria comes off as charming and inspiring. However, it’s after this point that the plot kind of meanders around, inserting differing conflicts with the staff, the never approving gaze of Bertie (which Eddie Izzard does a marvelous job with the role), and little side stories revolving around Abdul and his role as the Queen’s Munshi. As such, the film starts to drag in the 2nd act, but once again picks up in the third as the aging queen starts to wind down her career as Monarch.

The film is acted quite well, with Dame Judi Dench being Judi Dench. E.g., she is a powerhouse figure without even breaking a sweat, and the most charming part of the entire film. Ali Fazal does a solid job with Abdul, although there are a bit too many scenes near the beginning where his boyish eagerness and the foppishness of the Royal Court comes off like a Monty Python sketch. Eddie Izzard is given a smallish role in the film, but his natural sense of snobbishness makes him the perfect fit for Bertie, and once again makes him stand out way more than the role really should have with a lessor person in the role.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and language




Video:

Universal’s 2.39:1 AVC encoded Blu-ray was shot using Arri Alexa cameras for the portions shot in England, as well as RED Epic cameras for the native India shoots, and then transferred to an undisclosed resolution digital intermediate for home release. Being a completely digital shoot, Victoria & Abdul sports a very pleasing looking encode, with a glossy exterior and lots of highly warm and well saturated colors. The reds of the Indian garb pop off the screen from the dull blues and whites of the palace, while the white snow is sharply contrasted with the luscious green grasses of the palace garden. Fine detailing is excellent from beginning to end, with only short bouts of softness due to some over pushed white levels to keep it from being truly perfect. Blacks are deep and inky, with excellent shadow detail, even in the darkest of scenes (of which there are not many). A truly excellent encode.






Audio:

You can really almost predict the type of audio mix present on a dramatic film like this, and Victoria & Abdul delivers all of the goods necessary to provide a very pleasing and satisfactory dialog driven experience. The 5.1 mix is definitely front heavy, with most of the action taking place in the front of the palace, with lots of dialog and a smattering of ambient noises to break up the pattern in the back channels (such as the kitchen scene with a dozen cooks making the royal dinner before Abdul is ready to present the honorary coin to the Queen). LFE is mild, but it is used here and there to accentuate a door slamming, or the thudding of horses hooves in a carriage ride. Otherwise, the 5.1 mix is just a very stable and clean dramatic track that doesn’t get asked to do a whole lot, but does everything that IS asked of it well.






Extras:

• Judi & Ali
• The Look of Victoria & Abdul

Final Score: ​

Victoria & Abdul falls under that category of film making where the term “inconsequential” is used. The film is neither wildly entertaining, nor poorly done either. Instead it serves as a middle of the road film that is unassumingly charming while not ever exceeding the limitations of its creation. I enjoyed the drama for what it was, and really enjoyed several of the included performances (especially Dame Judi Dench), but was especially pleased with the technical specifications of Universal’s disc. The video is incredibly sharp and vibrant, and while the audio is definitely a drama track, it is technically proficient in every aspect. The only weak spot in the entire package stems from the seemingly common habit of putting minimal extras on board. Recommended for a decent watch.





Technical Specifications:

Starring: Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Tim Pigott-Smith
Directed by: Stephen Frears
Written by: Lee Hall (Screenplay), Shrabani Basu (Based on the Novel by)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French, Spanish DTS 5.1
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 111 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: December 19th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Decent Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I find this movie to be very fascinating.. Didn't even know this part of history.. Will check it out.