I love trailers. I think there is a special skill to putting together a good trailer. It must capture the attention and entice an audience but give very little away so that the viewer doesn’t feel like they’ve already seen the movie. Very few trailers master this but there are many that try and get very close. Every day I will highlight a new trailer which manages to successfully get me excited for a movie. Today’s sees a legendary British actress return to an Oscar nominated role…

Judi Dench returns to a role she made her own in Mrs Brown, as Queen Victoria. It seems to follow a similar route, with Dench’s Victoria befriending someone who the rest of the British royal court deems unsuitable. Rather than a brash Scotsman, this time it is an Indian peasant who teaches the Queen his culture.

So far, so ordinary but the trailer holds a charm and there is enough in Dench’s performance to raise a smile. Victoria is a monarch that had the (now second) longest reign in British history so there is so much of her life untapped for film and television. This could be interesting if not “must-see.”

Overall, Victoria and Abdul looks to be a sweet historic drama that could hold the attention. Dench rarely disappoints, especially in a role she has already made her own once before.