Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Victoria & Abdul Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 15, 2017

Victoria & Abdul is about two people falling in love without the physical component of falling in love. The story of the English queen and one of her Indian subjects discovering the pleasure of one another's company comes based on a true story that Director Stephen Frears (The Queen) and Writer Lee Hall (War Horse) have turned into a largely agreeable if not occasionally overstuffed, unfocused, and tonally disparate tale of friendship. The film finds its drama with the queen's retinue and its frustrations with and mounting angers over the relationship. But the two leads are generally agreeable, skilled in forming and fashioning friendship even in the face of fierce resistance.

First steps towards destiny.

Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal) is an Indian living under British rule. He's an everyday man, a commoner, who keeps a log book at a local prison. He is selected for a matter of great import, to travel to England and present the queen, Victoria (Judi Dench), with a treasured gift. He's selected only because of his towering height. He is told not to make eye contact with the queen. She is old, overweight, and fed up with structure and the demands on her life. She eats quickly and sloppily, falls asleep at the table, and behaves with unladylike manners. When Abdul presents her with the gift, she catches a look at him. She finds him "terribly handsome" and orders that he stay by her side. She becomes obsessed with remaining in his company. She finds life by his side and interest in his culture. As their relationship blossoms and she regains her vitality, those closest to her work to undermine the relationship and grow increasingly fatigued with the pair as Abdul becomes the center of the queen's life.

Victoria & Abdul is a tale of two disparate, though not entirely disjointed, halves. First is the queen's rejuvenation in her relationship with Abdul, and second is the contention she faces and the fierce battle she fights with those around her. The film's tonal switch between whimsically light and burdensome and heavy is quite jarring, understandable given the plot developments but it turns an agreeable film into a disagreeable one. The story is, in essence, the rise and fall of the queen. It begins with her in an unfavorable state, tired and lacking spark and a reason to go on. She finds those things in Abdul, and the interesting juxtaposition comes from her burst of vitality and how it plays against those who would see the queen return to the status quo, away from Abdul and no longer influenced by him, for better or for worse. But the narrative is largely empty around all of that. It can be charming in places, bizarre in others -- much of the film's second half revolves round the queen forcing her doctors to diagnose Abdul's and his wife's infertility problem -- and dreary and dark in others still. The movie is made with some skill, but its pacing and narrative construct often leave much to be desired.

The film does strive towards, and achieves, quality integral production design. Boasting both richly presented practical sets and locations with some largely seamless digital support in places, the film certainly looks the part, very agreeably and bountifully beautiful where it matters. Costumes are well formed and precise, with an impressive selection of wardrobe choices with diverse presentation and construction that brings out the lavish extravagance of the place and time. Frears captures the action with a sense of splendor on one hand and intimacy on the other, the former in the more cheerful and, for Abdul, exploratory period of intimacy as the characters' bond grows through the middle. The film does have a cold and dark side, interspersed throughout and heavy towards the end; Frears is always visually complimentary of the film's narrative positioning. Acting is unsurprisingly excellent. Dench's makeup looks burdensome and overdone, but the actress overcomes with a complex performance that sometimes hints at senility but also explores her tender side and even darker side as she relentlessly fights her naysayers. Ali Fazal is strong, too, in the role opposite, finding a steadfastness and agreeable front in his humbling position and growth in friendship with one of the world's most powerful people.

Victoria & Abdul Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Victoria & Abdul was digitally photographed and features a nicely clean image that's about as organic and filmic as the digital medium currently allows. Despite a few minor bouts of smoothness and flatness, the Blu-ray offers an impressively robust picture that makes easy work of the ornate clothes, complexly lavish environments, and the dense makeup Dench wears for the part. Textural intricacies are finely developed and visible, whether various fabric and accompanying adornments, intimate pores and facial hair, grasses, or interior opulence. Colors are lively and well balanced, with the plenty of vitality on offer for the duration. Reds are particularly agreeable, and the image handles the bleaker and colder scenes with impressive accuracy and stability. Black levels are by-and-large fine and skin tones appear accurate. The image sees a little noise but no other grossly problematic encode or source issues.

Victoria & Abdul Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Victoria & Abdul features an enjoyably robust and spacious DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Music plays with a lively, clearly defined presentation, engaging the listener with impressive instrumental definition and separation along with naturally flowing front-side spread and organic surround push. Plenty of environmental support pieces play with accurate and immersive posture. Whether street din in India early on or a couple of examples of gusty winds and driving rains in chapters six and ten or some light dialogue reverberation in large palatial spaces, the track always makes use of the channels afforded to it. Dialogue propels the majority of the listening experience, and it plays with quality front-center positioning, seamless clarity, and effortless prioritization.

Victoria & Abdul Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Victoria & Abdul contains two featurettes. A DVD copy of the film and a digital copy voucher are included with purchase.

• Judi & Ali (1080p, 4:55): A closer look at the burgeoning relationship between the title characters and what each did for the other. It also explores the actors' performances.
• The Look of Victoria & Abdul (1080p, 6:46): A closer examination of shooting locations, Frears' direction, and more.

Victoria & Abdul Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Victoria & Abdul has its moments, but its tonally dark and draining third act draws back on the agreeable accessibility of its first two. The film is beautifully constructed and well acted, but it's not enough to overcome other structural shortcomings. The Blu-ray looks and sounds excellent. Supplements are limited to a pair of underwhelming featurettes. Rent it.