Dame delivers a royal command performance
VICTORIA & ABDUL (Cert PG; 112mins)
IT HAS been said many times and in many ways but thank goodness for Dame Judi Dench. Her performance in Victoria & Abdul is pitch perfect: wise, witty, effortlessly touching and full of twinkling mischief.
So it’s a shame that the film is such a lazy, creaky pantomime that could have been made in the 1930s rather than the 21st century.
When Judi Dench played Queen Victoria in Mrs Brown, she won a Bafta and was nominated for an Oscar. Victoria & Abdul feels awfully like Mrs Brown 2 but Dench is just as good and you are hugely invested in the emotional wellbeing of the elderly monarch. She is the film’s saviour.
The film is loosely, very loosely, based on true events. It begins in Agra as young clerk Abdul (Ali Fazal) is informed that he has been chosen for the great honour of presenting a ceremonial coin to Queen Victoria in London. Grumpy Mohammed (Adeel Akhtar) joins him on the long voyage to be presented at court.
Cultural misunderstandings deliver a good deal of cheap laughs. The duo are also given very specific instructions about how they should behave in Her Majesty’s presence. Looking her in the eye or any form of conversation is forbidden but when Abdul does catch the royal eye, he is rewarded with a rare smile.
Soon Victoria is as skittish as a teenager, remarking on how handsome Abdul is and demanding that he stay in Britain as her personal footman. The friendship that develops between the two has its fun moments. The lonely old queen blossoms in the company of an outsider and develops an interest in all things Indian, although it’s a little belated given that she is Empress Of India.
Naturally all the outraged hangers-on at court and Prime Minister Lord Salisbury (Michael Gambon) consider Abdul to be a danger to the stability of the monarchy. Meanwhile Bertie (Eddie Izzard), Prince Of Wales and future king, hangs around the royal household like a bad smell.
Soon wheels are set in motion to send Abdul packing. However the frail Queen may be in failing health but she will not be outwitted or defied and she does
everything she can to keep Abdul close at hand.
Abdul is an endearing charmer but he lacks substance. Ali Fazal plays him with a beaming smile and servile manner that reminds you of dodgy Peter Sellers characterisations back in the 1960s.
Hints that he is less guileless than he appears and exploiting the situation for his own ends are largely underdeveloped. And a light dusting of world politics on top of this light confection does nothing to sour its sweet taste.
What does work in Victoria & Abdul is the sense of a monarch in the twilight of her years, isolated, lonely and finding little solace in a family of wastrels and scoundrels. Judi Dench’s poignant performance injects heart and soul into this strangely flippant, superficial affair.
THE VILLAINESS (Cert 18; 124mins)
THE Villainess is not for the faint-hearted. This ferocious revenge thriller takes your breath away with its jaw-dropping action sequences and blood-soaked disregard for human life. James Bond and Jason Bourne seem mild-mannered compared to Kim Ok-bin’s Sook-Hee.
Trained as a killer and recruited by the Korean Intelligence Agency, Sook-Hee burns with a hunger to avenge the death of her father.
She poses as a single mother and professional actress in a plot filled with betrayal, divided loyalties and flashbacks to her early years which provide an emotional connection to the character that sustains us through the mayhem and murder.
A motorbike chase involving a death-defying sword fight is incredible while the climax on a speeding bus is a stunning testimony to the performers and fight choreographers.
The camerawork places you right in the heart of the action, dodging every bullet and trying to avoid a punch in the eye. Exhausting, edge-of-the-seat thrills.
THE CASE FOR CHRIST (Cert PG; 113mins)
IN 1980, Chicago Tribune reporter Lee Strobel (Mike Vogel) and his wife Leslie (Erika Christensen) were in a restaurant when their daughter almost choked to death.
Only the intervention of nurse Alfie (L Scott Caldwell) saved her life. It was a moment that led Leslie towards a greater faith in the power of God but Lee remained the eternal sceptic.
Trying to bridge the growing gap between them, he set out to use his skills as an investigative reporter to prove that the resurrection could never have happened.
The film has the feel of a thriller as he interviews academics, theologians and psychologists to try to win his argument. Oscarwinner Faye Dunaway has one scene as a psychologist in a film that is decent, sincere and surprisingly watchable.
JOURNEY THROUGH FRENCH CINEMA (Cert 12A; 201mins)
YOU couldn’t wish for a better guide to the glories of French cinema than director Bertrand Tavernier. A celebrated film-maker in his own right, Tavernier brings all his passion and knowledge to this epic documentary no film lover will want to miss.
Mixing together personal memories and film history, he recalls his childhood in the 1940s and the film-makers he considers his “movie godfathers”.
A treasure trove of expertly chosen clips, rare interviews and behind-the-scenes footage mean the daunting three-hour running time leaves you wanting more.
KILLS ON WHEELS (Cert 15; 103mins)
MIXING black comedy and bloodshed, Kills On Wheels shrugs off its sensationalistic premise to deliver a touchingly offbeat tale of friendship and the challenges of disability.
Former fireman Rupaszov (Szabolcs Thuróczy) has spent three years in a wheelchair after an injury at work. On his release from prison, he meets disabled youngster Zolika (Zoltán Fenyvesi) and best friend Barba Papa (Adám Fekete).
An unlikely bond is forged as Rupaszov’s irreverent approach to life rubs off on the youngsters who even help with his work as a hitman for a crime boss. An engaging Hungarian film whose tough exterior conceals a warm heart.