The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (***½)
Directed
by: John Madden
Starring:
Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton, Ronald
Pickup, Celia Imrie, Dev Patel, Tena Desae
Seen:
March 23rd 2012
***½
Out of ****
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a movie about exploration, about
ending eras, about living in the moment, about overcoming fears and prejudice,
and about bridging culture gaps. When a group of unrelated British retirees go
on holiday, they all head to India, lured there by promises of the exotic hotel
they will be living in.
There’s Evelyn (Dench) who just lost her husband and in the process
discovers that he has left her with a nasty financial surprise. We also have
Douglas (Nighy) and Jean (Wilton), a couple who’ve lost all their money, money
Douglas invested in his daughter’s internet business, something Douglas is
being harassed about endlessly by Jean. There’s Muriel (Smith), who’s come to
India for more affordable hip replacement surgery and who suffers from a
crippling, racist fear of anyone not like her. Graham (Wilkinson) has been
threatening retirement from his job as a high court judge for years, and has a
past in India to come back to and reconcile with while Norman (Pickup) and
Madge (Imrie) both feel the possibility of love in their lives slipping away
and they invest a last-gasp effort at finding some solace for their old day.
Ariving at The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, the group are heartily
welcomed by proprietor Sonny (Patel), who oversells everything: even his online
advertisement of the hotel is as he sees it in future. The group has no other
real option but to move in, and as they go ahead the viewer becomes a tourist
in their (mis-)adventures in India: Evelyn starts a blog; Douglas and Jean’s
relationship deteriorates as Douglas tries to experience India while Jean
refuses to leave the hotel and complains non-stop about everything; Muriel
silently observes everyone and comes to terms with her servant, a member of the
cast-off classes in India; Graham goes searching for his past and Norman and
Madge try all sorts of things to plug the gaps in their lonely lives.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a searching experience, and as one
character searched for a destination early on I realised that I was just as
curious as her about where things are headed next. The movie celebrates the
vibrancy of life in India and contrasts the different experiences the guests
have, whether they cannot stand anything or whether they love India deeply. The
actors all do a fantastic job of drawing you in to the characters they
represent, you feel Evelyn’s joy at rediscovering herself, Douglas’ frustration
with Jean, Muriel’s fear, Norman and Madge’s desperation and you start loathing
Jean’s disposition towards everything. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a beautiful experience and I definitely
recommend it to anyone who values and celebrates life and love and diversity.
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