The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is the most feel-good, uplifting film that I’ve seen in recent memory. I loved it! The script was elegantly simple and also profound in its raw truths about growing older: the realization that life evolves and that you’re never too old to be surprised.
From the opening scene, it captures your attention with interesting characters, humor, beautiful cinematography, and individual and collective plots that never let go. The audience becomes so invested in the characters and the outcome that they look past some of the slightly trite symbolism and metaphors and just sit back and enjoy the ride.
The story begins with the introduction — one by one — of seven British citizens, Judy Dench (the recent widow), Tom Wilkinson (the barrister with a guilty past), Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton (the broke couple), Ronald Pickup and Cilia Imrie (two singles looking for a change from the older British dating scene), and Maggy Smith (a crabby never-married domestic that needs cheap hip surgery) who are all drawn to “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the elderly and beautiful” based on an advertisement inspired more by the proprietors hopes than on reality; the hotel is anything but the Best or Exotic.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
The young manager, Sonny (Dev Patel), whose energy level is on the edge of annoying to his newly arrived clients, is endearing, and you can’t help but root for him in his attempt, against all odds, to revive his dad’s hotel. He lacks the business savvy required to do so but relentlessly holds to his belief that “everything works out in the end, so if it hasn’t worked out yet, then it’s not the end”, as he struggles with a hotel well past its prime, his desire to accommodate his new guests, while also pursuing the love of his life, Sunaina (the enchanting Tene Desae)- a relationship that neither her brother nor Sonny’s mother approve of.
With such a large central cast and individual dramas that fade in and out of focus, the two-hour runtime is well used, allowing each character to evolve and shine in this city of color and sound.
The film was a true throwback to quality filmmaking, with every aspect (script, casting, cinematography, directing) in harmony with the other. It was an endearing, engaging film that had the audience laughing out loud one minute and stirring emotions the next.
The older ensemble cast clings to the memory of a life gone by –while searching for current relevance and happiness in the presence of an uncertain post-retirement future — only to discover new beginnings in the last third of their lives, with the younger Sonny and Sunaina grappling with all the promise, fears, and obstacles of early adulthood that is just beginning.
5 stars
