Jason KingTHE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL: A Review
April 3rd 2012 09:23
:
Delightful
What a delightful film this one is - it is the perfect word for it and one of two films out at the moment you HAVE TO TAKE YOUR PARENTS AND/ OR GRANDPARENTS TO!!
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel follows a group of British retirees who decide to "outsource" their retirement to less expensive and seemingly exotic India. Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel and bolstered with visions of a life of leisure, they arrive to find the palace a shell of its former self. Though the new environment is less luxurious than imagined, they are forever transformed by their shared experiences, discovering that life and love can begin again when you let go of the past.
So many of my friends had been raving about the film and urging me to see it and my excitement level was so high for it and I wasn't overly disappointed. Firstly the great thing about this film is the ensemble of actors - they are in a league of their own.
Maggie Smith is out of this world in the film and has always been one of my faves, as is Judi Dench, as is Bill Nighy and the others all rise to the film and make it one of the best ensembles I have seen. And also impressive is Dev Patel - he has come so far since being in my fave TV show Skins and then in Slumdog Millioanire - he is obviously the go to guy in his 20s to be in any film that involves India and he pulls it off in this one just as good as he did in Slumdog.
Ronald Pickup is a hoot playing the lecherous old man and while Penelope Wilton's character is the most depressing it also looked like the hardest role to play and she did it wonders.
The story is easy to watch and has superb character development - but it did get to me that every person in the film has issues about being old - not one of them is just happy to cruise along and enjoy the retirement - it is saddening that the film shows us that when we get old we won't be happy until we resolve a bunch of stuff and we should head to India to find ourselves. I also expected more of the beauty of India but this film is not about India - it is about the characters in the film. And all the little tales work out well. As the film states - "It will all work out in the end and if it doesn't it isn't the end". Feel good stuff! I see Hallmark cards
.
I thought a couple of times that maybe the actors were bigger than the story but the story is just simple, lacks deep substance and is easy for everyone to enjoy. It requires no thinking and is quaint personal tales of people. It is as a real holiday would be - you don't find out the depth of characters but you get enough to form opinions.
One thing I had an issue with was the blurriness surrounding the relationship that developed between Dench's and Nighy's character - he was just supportive and friendly - I never knew this translated into a relationship??
The director John Madden, who is best known for Shakespeare in Love and (the mouthful) Captain Corelli's Mandolin, has created a beautifully directed film that appreciates every single actor in the film - everyone is given attention and the side tales of each person are so interesting.
The main joy of this film is seeing these heroes of so many films in their old no plastic surgery required selves tearing up the screen with skill and magnetism - it just proves that films don't always have to be about the uber beautiful people of the world.
This one is out now and I am giving it an 8 out of 10 - again incase you forgot - GET YOUR PARENTS TO THIS ONE!!!
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel follows a group of British retirees who decide to "outsource" their retirement to less expensive and seemingly exotic India. Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel and bolstered with visions of a life of leisure, they arrive to find the palace a shell of its former self. Though the new environment is less luxurious than imagined, they are forever transformed by their shared experiences, discovering that life and love can begin again when you let go of the past.
So many of my friends had been raving about the film and urging me to see it and my excitement level was so high for it and I wasn't overly disappointed. Firstly the great thing about this film is the ensemble of actors - they are in a league of their own.
Maggie Smith is out of this world in the film and has always been one of my faves, as is Judi Dench, as is Bill Nighy and the others all rise to the film and make it one of the best ensembles I have seen. And also impressive is Dev Patel - he has come so far since being in my fave TV show Skins and then in Slumdog Millioanire - he is obviously the go to guy in his 20s to be in any film that involves India and he pulls it off in this one just as good as he did in Slumdog.
Ronald Pickup is a hoot playing the lecherous old man and while Penelope Wilton's character is the most depressing it also looked like the hardest role to play and she did it wonders.
The story is easy to watch and has superb character development - but it did get to me that every person in the film has issues about being old - not one of them is just happy to cruise along and enjoy the retirement - it is saddening that the film shows us that when we get old we won't be happy until we resolve a bunch of stuff and we should head to India to find ourselves. I also expected more of the beauty of India but this film is not about India - it is about the characters in the film. And all the little tales work out well. As the film states - "It will all work out in the end and if it doesn't it isn't the end". Feel good stuff! I see Hallmark cards
.
I thought a couple of times that maybe the actors were bigger than the story but the story is just simple, lacks deep substance and is easy for everyone to enjoy. It requires no thinking and is quaint personal tales of people. It is as a real holiday would be - you don't find out the depth of characters but you get enough to form opinions.
One thing I had an issue with was the blurriness surrounding the relationship that developed between Dench's and Nighy's character - he was just supportive and friendly - I never knew this translated into a relationship??
The director John Madden, who is best known for Shakespeare in Love and (the mouthful) Captain Corelli's Mandolin, has created a beautifully directed film that appreciates every single actor in the film - everyone is given attention and the side tales of each person are so interesting.
The main joy of this film is seeing these heroes of so many films in their old no plastic surgery required selves tearing up the screen with skill and magnetism - it just proves that films don't always have to be about the uber beautiful people of the world.
This one is out now and I am giving it an 8 out of 10 - again incase you forgot - GET YOUR PARENTS TO THIS ONE!!!
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