The 8 Judi Dench Movies That Defined Her Career

Dame Judi Dench has been a hallmark of British cinema and theater for generations, and audiences have long been enraptured by her ability to capture any role with ease. Though she got her start on the stage, Dench has shown herself to be capable of bringing any genre of film to life. Though she’s received plenty of accolades for her performances in movies, Dench isn’t defined by these awards but by the lives she’s touched with her performances. She’s an excellent example of a woman that the film industry has continued to celebrate as she ages gracefully.

Dench has been in some of the best period piece movies of all time, and she’s fallen into the typecast of stern older women in these films. However, her wit and comedic timing stand out when it comes to her acting ability. No joke is too sly or subtle for Dench. She’s capable of playing even the most ridiculous characters with sincerity. Some of her most defining roles have come in taking on classic British historical figures and characters from literature. Despite this, she is also at ease in modern projects that push her out of her comfort zone.

8 A Room With A View (1985)

As Eleanor Lavish

A Room with a View (1985)

In A Room with a View, young Lucy Honeychurch, played by Helena Bonham Carter, is on a trip to Italy where she meets the free-spirited George Emerson. Returning to England, Lucy becomes engaged to the repressed Cecil Vyse. As she grapples with societal expectations and her true desires, Lucy must decide between passion and propriety.

Director

James Ivory

Release Date

December 13, 1985

Studio(s)

Merchant Ivory Productions , Goldcrest Films , FilmFour International

Cast

Maggie Smith , Denholm Elliott , judi dench , Simon Callow , Helena Bonham Carter , Julian Sands , Daniel Day-Lewis , Fabia Drake , Patrick Godfrey , Rupert Graves , Joan Henley , Rosemary Leach

Runtime

117 Minutes

In Merchant Ivory’s A Room with a View, Dench plays a smaller role when compared to her peer, Dame Maggie Smith, but the two of them play off each other brilliantly in the film. Dench’s character, Eleanor Lavish, is a novelist whom Charlotte, played by Smith, and Lucy meet during their travels in Europe. Immediately, the chemistry between Dench and Smith is obvious, and it’s clear that there is no trouble demonstrating the growing friendship between the two women. A Room with a View is a fun departure for Dench, as her Eleanor is a free spirit.

It’s Eleanor’s description of the love between Lucy and George in her novel that forces Lucy to confront her feelings for him and chase after her happiness. Though A Room with a View was not Dench’s first film, it was one of her most prominent during this period and exposed her skills to a wide array of audiences. Additionally, the film has enjoyed an acclaimed reputation and is one of Merchant Ivory’s most popular projects thanks to its star-studded cast.

7 Mrs. Brown (1997)

As Queen Victoria

None of the six seasons of The Crown tackle the life of Queen Victoria, as her time was long before Queen Elizabeth II took office. However, this is also because so much media has already been made about Queen Victoria’s life and her long reign as monarch. The movie Mrs. Brown would not be the last time that Dench played a British monarch or even Queen Victoria, but it’s still an excellent example of why Dench is continuously singled out to bring the royal family to life.

Debates and opinions surrounding the British monarchy are fraught subjects, and any movie that takes on their legacy must be willing to take a stance. However, Dench’s iteration of Victoria in Mrs. Brown stands out because Dench plays her as an imperfect human being with empathy and a reservation of judgment. Mrs. Brown set Dench on a course of being asked to bring this gravity to the queens of England many times over, and she’s received great acclaim for it.

6 Shakespeare In Love (1998)

As Queen Elizabeth I

Shakespeare in Love

Shakespeare in Love is a romantic comedy directed by John Madden and starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes. Released in 1998, the film follows playwright Shakespeare as he attempts to seduce the owner of a rival theater. 

Release Date

December 11, 1998

Studio(s)

Universal Pictures

Runtime

123 minutes

Though Dench has been in many films that have been showered with accolades, Shakespeare in Love saw Dench win the Oscar for Best Actress In A Supporting Role after being nominated for Best Actress for Mrs. Brown the previous year. While Dench is onscreen as Queen Elizabeth for only a short time throughout the movie, her presence is thunderous every time she appears. The thrust of Shakespeare in Love is the romance between William Shakespeare and Viola, but everything in their worlds is dictated by Queen Elizabeth and her rules of society.

The cast of Shakespeare in Love boasts an enormous amount of talent, but it’s easy to single out Dench for how expertly she captures the humor and iron will of Queen Elizabeth. This was her first Oscar, and it proved to American audiences and critics that she was here to stay and would be continuously nominated for her work. Though there are many versions of the role of Queen Elizabeth, Dench’s is one of the most definitive and fun to watch.

5 The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)

As Lady Bracknell

Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, received an updated film adaptation in 2002 with a young Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth in two of the lead roles. Dench’s transition into characters like Lady Bracknell was firmly established in The Importance of Being Earnest, as it saw her flex her comedic muscles even more so than her dramatic ones. Fewer film iterations of plays star Dench than audiences might assume, so it’s nice to see her in her natural element in the project.

This was not the first time that Dench had played Lady Bracknell, as she had taken on the role on stage previously and, so, had a handle on the severity and wit of the character. It can sometimes be difficult to like the tough characters that Dench takes on because of how they’re written, but Dench always manages to draw the viewer in with her charismatic nature. While The Importance of Being Earnest isn’t her most popular film, it shows her stage talents on the screen.

4 Casino Royale (2006)

As M

Casino Royale

The twenty-first film in Eon’s James Bond franchise, Casino Royale, stars Daniel Craig as secret agent 007. Introducing Craig to the role with an origin story, Casino Royale shows Bond earning his MI6 codename before being tasked with infiltrating a casino in Montenegro in order to bankrupt a terrorist financier known as Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen). However, Bond’s assignment is more complicated than it seems, as Le Chiffre seems to have inside knowledge of the MI6 agent’s plan.

Director

Martin Campbell

Release Date

November 14, 2006

Studio(s)

Sony

Runtime

144 minutes

Though Dench began her James Bond tenure during Pierce Brosnan’s era, her most important film in the franchise came when she became one of the few cast members to make the jump from one Bond to another. Daniel Craig’s first outing as Bond in Casino Royale wouldn’t have been possible without Dench, as she was an anchor to the past iteration of the character. Dench’s depth and assuredness in her performance helped foster a sense of security in the uncertainty of Craig’s era.

It was a shame when Skyfall killed off Judi Dench’s M, but it was a necessary evolution of the franchise, as Dench couldn’t have stayed on when Craig left the franchise only a few movies later. Despite this, M was one of the biggest recurring characters throughout Craig’s tenure as Bond, and the movies will never feel the same without her. Being in James Bond refined Dench’s career and brought her into the action world. Additionally, Dench was instrumental in how women are treated in the Bond universe. M had only been played by men before Dench joined the cast.

3 Notes On A Scandal (2006)

As Barbara Covett

Notes On A Scandal (2006)

A veteran high school teacher discovers her younger colleague is engaged in an illicit affair with a student. As she confronts the moral complexities of her own loneliness and desires, the relationship between the two women spirals into a tense and manipulative psychological game, revealing dark secrets and personal demons.

Director

Richard Eyre

Release Date

December 25, 2006

Studio(s)

Fox Searchlight Pictures , BBC Films , Scott Rudin Productions

Cast

judi dench , Cate Blanchett , Bill Nighy , Andrew Simpson , Tom Georgeson , Michael Maloney , Joanna Scanlan , Shaun Parkes

Runtime

92 minutes

Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench make a formidable pair in Notes on a Scandal, a psychological thriller that sees the two women at odds and playing a dangerous game. Dench plays Barbara, a schoolteacher who suppresses her sexuality but is drawn to Sheba, played by Blanchett, who becomes friends with Barbara at the school. As the story unfolds, each woman proves to be more darkly complex than the audience realizes, and their codependent and troubled friendship brings out the basest impulses and most devious tricks between them.

Notes on a Scandal was positively received by critics and audiences alike when it was released, and the performances of the women in the lead roles were highlighted as the strongest parts. It’s engaging to see Dench in a role that deals with her sexuality and desires as a woman, as many characters that older women play omit these aspects of life. However, Notes on a Scandal engages with them in twisting and unexpected ways.

2 Victoria & Abdul (2017)

As Queen Victoria

Victoria and Abdul

Director

Stephen Frears

Release Date

September 22, 2017

Cast

Fenella Woolgar , Michael Gambon , Simon Callow , Olivia Williams , Ali Fazal , Tim Pigott-Smith , Adeel Akhtar , Julian Wadham , judi dench , Eddie Izzard

Queen Victoria’s deep love for her husband, Albert, has been explored in many pieces of cinema, including Victoria, which is one of the best period romance TV shows ever made. However, Victoria & Abdul explores a different relationship, a friendship that Victoria embarked upon in the twilight years of her reign. When she meets Abdul Karim, a man who travels from India to England to serve in her household, they become extraordinarily close, and Victoria treats him almost as a son. While the movie is loosely based on a true story, it leaves out many critical aspects of history.

Victoria & Abdul should be viewed through a critical lens, as it doesn’t scratch the surface of the damage the British colonial occupation of India did to the country and its people. However, when watching the movie and Dench’s performance, it’s clear that she intended to give even more depth to the role of Victoria than she first did in Mrs. Brown. In 2017, it seemed as though Dench’s time onscreen was winding down, but she proved otherwise with Victoria & Abdul.

1 Belfast (2021)

As Granny

Belfast

Belfast is a coming-of-age drama by Kenneth Branagh that centers on a family, specifically one boy in the family, living in 1969  Belfast, Ireland. The film chronicles the young man’s childhood as he experiences love, drama, and more in a socially tumultuous time in Ireland’s history as Protestant loyalists and Catholics find themselves at war with one another.

Release Date

November 12, 2021

Studio(s)

Universal Pictures

Cast

Jude Hill , Lewis McAskie , Caitriona Balfe , Jamie Dornan , judi dench , Ciarán Hinds

Runtime

97 minutes

Kenneth Branagh’s coming-of-age drama cements Dench’s position as an actress who will continue to perform amazingly well into her later life. Though it’s a period piece and takes on the difficult subject of the beginnings of The Troubles in Belfast in 1969, the story and characters feel vibrant and relevant to the modern day. Dench plays the grandmother of the young boy at the center of the story, Buddy. It’s from his perspective that the story unfolds and the adult’s actions are witnessed.

Dench was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for playing Granny in Belfast, and it’s thanks to her that the emotional beats of the film’s last act hit home. If audience members are looking for a searing look at this fraught period of history, Belfast is not the answer, as the film is more sentimental than historical. However, this is why the character of Granny is memorable and why Judi Dench was the perfect choice to bring a sense of credibility to the project. Since Belfast is her most recent critically acclaimed film, it affects her legacy.