Victoria & Abdul is worth seeing for Dench's magisterial performance and for Frears's light but sure directorial touch. Just don't mistake it for actual history.
Awareness is where Frears balances both humour and drama because it's the core of the story, emotionally and politically. We can laugh at the politesse disguising denial, at the court's love of the crusty status quo, but Abdul is the emissary of change.
The film's attempt to portray the Queen as more politically enlightened than her courtiers is kindly but unconvincing, and many of the actors bark and behave as if participating in a spoof.
Packaged tightly with endearing charm and soul-gratifying beauty, this British drama eschews all aristocratic stuffiness, favoring humor and earned poignancy.
... the sumptuous (or bombastic) melodrama is not lacking: Victoria & Abdul recreates in its own majesty... falling into the sins of Orientalism. [Full review in Spanish]
It's up to historians to assess how accurate this funny, charming film is to the details of Queen Victoria's last years, but its use of poetic license is impeccable.
Victoria & Abdul may capture the ugly side of Britain's colonial past, but its demeaning portrait of Abdul reinforces the Orientalism it purports to lampoon.
