VICTORIA AND ABDUL
DIRECTOR: Stephen Frears CAST: Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Eddie Izzard, Michael Gambon It’s been 20 years since Judi Dench’s Oscar-winning performance in Mrs Brown, which followed Queen Victoria’s close relationship with her Scottish ghillie John Brown. This new drama, with Judi back in the Victoria role, is set a few years later when the British monarch developed a similar attachment to her Muslim servant Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal). As you would expect, Dench is flawless, while Bollywood veteran Fazal proves to be the perfect complement. A heartwarming look at a woman most of us know only as a giant statue.