You don’t have to look hard to find programming about the royalty on the small screen, with “The Crown” and “Victoria” leaving you more than covered. But if you want all that regal pomp and circumstance on the big screen, “Victoria and Abdul” will fit the bill.
The constantly busy Stephen Frears directs the film, which sees Judi Dench playing Queen again (she did before in the 1997 film “Mrs. Brown“), with the drama this time around drawing from an intriguing chapter in the royal figure’s life. Here’s the official synopsis:
The extraordinary true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria’s (Academy Award winner Judi Dench) remarkable rule. When Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favor with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.
“Victoria and Abdul” opens on September 22nd, and you can probably bank on some kind of fall festival appearance.
