Victoria and Abdul

"Look, I’m all for an unlikely friendship story. A budgie and a lion cub? Sign me up. The Hound and Arya Stark? Absolutely love it. A reigning ancient monarch who forces a young Indian servant to hang out with her all the time because she’s a bit bored? Hmm, sounds troubling. Even if loosely based on a true story, these very dodgy foundations of Victoria and Abdul continue to wobble all the way to the end."

""Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" served with mango chutney."

"A royal treat."

"This is kid-gloves historical storytelling. It's sometimes amusing, and occasionally touching, but there's nothing here to scare the horses."

"What a peculiarly dodgy, conservative film this is - a lazy salute to a good queen and her faithful Indian servant."

"Fun to watch, but there is a gratifying amount of shade and jaggedness among all the expected pageantry and japes as well. Recommended."

"It's a prestige picture, make no mistake, but its target audience is looking to be placated rather than challenged."

"The sizable constituency that turns out for glossy period drama of this kind will embrace the sumptuously appointed Victoria & Abdul as a moving account of an isolated old woman finding joy and lightness in her final years."

"...a satisfyingly sweet confection which will find, and please, its audience."

"Stephen Frears knows how to keep the culture-clash comedy bright and sprightly, and Lee Hall has written a script which can be charming fun while having a few digs at racism and snobbery along the way."