What happens when you put some of the UK’s best actors over 50 including Dame Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, and Tom Wilkinson in an ensemble dramedy set in India? You get a warm, poignant film called The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
The setup is pretty basic: each of the characters facing the twilight of their lives, decide to retire to a beautiful hotel called… you guessed it, the Best Marigold Hotel. There’s only one problem upon their arrival: the hotel doesn’t look anything like the picture in the advertisements. The Best part is that the run-down fleabag of hotel is still standing. There’s certainly nothing exotic about it; it’s a disaster in the making.
The manager of the run-down motel is a young man by the name of Sonny played by Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire fame; at first, the elderly guests are pretty put off by the young man’s deception, but they decide to forge ahead. While it’s not Shangri-la, it’s home, at least for now.
Of course, some of the challenges of growing older are played out for laughs, but there’s one thing that aches within each of the guests: their being alone and wanting to be loved. There’s one storyline in which Tom Wilkinson’s character searches for a lost love and seeks to rekindle the relationship with devastating results that this cynical reviewer never saw coming. Even the only married couple is distant and dreadfully alone.
As these retirees come to life through discovering the love they’ve so desperately been missing, so does the hotel. The relationship between the guests and the young manager thaw; he’s also experiencing relationship issues as well and has to prove to his intended that he’s a catch. While most of the stories are sweet and well played by this group of fantastic actors, some relationships turn sour as well, and one of our intrepid group decides they’ve had enough and can’t adjust to life so far away from home that they head back to what they feel is home.
The film, directed by John Madden and based on a book titled These Foolish Things, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, like Slumdog Millionaire, takes advantage of the best and the worst locations that India has to offer. The film was made for $10 million and grossed over $140 million worldwide. The Brits know how to craft beautiful ensemble pieces that are the perfect movie for Valentine’s Day… or whenever you need a good cry.