Victoria & Abdul

Victoria & Abdul (2017) is Stephen Frears' historical drama, and you can watch it online on iFILM. Judi Dench returns to the role of Queen Victoria, this time playing her as old, worn down by power and court ritual, and surrounded by people who all want something from her.

Late in her reign, by which point she had also been crowned Empress of India, a young clerk named Abdul Karim arrives at the palace. He was brought over from Agra for a single ceremony, yet the Queen quietly draws him into her inner circle. Abdul teaches her Urdu and tells her about the India she rules but has never seen. The friendship that grows between them enrages her family and household, who scheme relentlessly to push the outsider away from the throne. Ali Fazal plays Abdul, with Eddie Izzard and Michael Gambon alongside.

The story stayed buried for a long time: after Victoria died, the court destroyed nearly every trace of their correspondence, and the truth only surfaced a century later through surviving journals. Dench carries it all with dry wit and an undertow of sadness, making her Victoria a person rather than a monument. Stream Victoria & Abdul (2017) online on iFILM.