Review: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
What We Thought
Genre: Comedy, DramaWhat We Liked :
Fantastic Cast, Beautiful LocationWhat We Disliked:
Too many stories to follow, Some plot points solved too easily.The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel isn’t just for the elderly though. When other movies are in your face all time, its nice to find a movie that can touch your heart.
What happens when some of best actors in Britain head to India for retirement? Will they be able to cope with their surroundings? Or get overwhelmed in their new environment? While not a reality television show, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel manages to answer these questions with humor and compassion. The story follows a group of people who have found their lives unfulfilling in their old age. They happen to discover the answer to their problems, a beautiful hotel in the heart of India.
Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel) owns the hotel and is overjoyed when he meets his first tenants for his ‘luxury’ hotel. He is one of three brothers in an affluent Indian family. His brothers have already seen success with their business ventures and Sonny has failed to live up to expectations. His mother wishes he would give up the hotel and be placed into an arranged marriage. All his dreams and passions lie in the success of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and he tries his best to make his costumers feel at home.
While some of the new tenants might had an inkling of what they were getting into, some of them fail to fit in. Jean Ainslie (Penelope Wilton) is forced to move to India due to their retirement money being tied up with their daughter’s investment. She is wary of the people and even more frightened of the food. Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith) is also in a tough position. She is extremely racist and settled in her ways. When she has to travel to India to get a hip replacement, she is afraid to leave her old life behind.
The other elderly residents seem to adopt well enough to their surroundings. Evelyn Greenslade (Judi Dench) has never done something like this, but after her husband of forty years passed away, she thought she owed this to herself. Douglas Ainslie (Bill Nighy) finds life in India and it has opened his eyes to a whole new world. Then, Graham Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson) is actually returning to where he grew up to find his lover before it is too late.
This is another one of those movies where the short stories all lead into a bigger narrative. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel manages to succeed when it is following the characters through this unique location and offering up a bit of charm and warmth. When it tries its hand at heavier messages and themes, it loses some of its most enduring characteristics.
Is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel worth visiting? The heartwarming moments make a case for anyone with interest to find it enjoyable. There’s no special effects or explosions here, just the journey of a group of elderly and beautiful people finding new life after retirement. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel isn’t just for the elderly though. When other movies are in your face all time, its nice to find a movie that can touch your heart.
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This is best for every one especially for old ones.
I guess if elderly people do want to go out to the 'pictures', they'd have an enjoyable time with this. That's not to persuade them from seeing Battleship of course.
Interesting. I'd like to see it, the trailers looked sweet and charming enough, you know?
It's doing well for itself in limited release…
Thanks for the lowdown, Max.
No Problem, Fogs. I think sweet and charming sum up the experience quite well. It helps to know every actor that appears in the movie. There's just something you expect from their performances and they deliver.