The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

        Lost in the noise and clamor of the epic Avengers movie this weekend, ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ is an incredibly powerful and emotionally gratifying film that will not get the attention it’s due.  Suffering from the combination of a massive box office weekend for ‘The Avengers’ as well as an over 60 target audience, this will be a quiet gem that I hope will be discovered on DVD and not forgotten at Oscar time.

The ensemble cast contains some of the most respected names in British acting:  The incredible and elegant Judi Dench, the fantastically under appreciated Tom Wilkinson, the immensely watchable Bill Nighy, and the charming Maggie Smith.  There are many others of course and everyone involved brings their A-game to this moving and enjoyable film about a group of British retirees trying to make a life for themselves in a far away land.

None of these characters have anything in common other than that they are retiring and are looking for an affordable way to live their retirement.  They all come across a website extolling a retirement paradise in India called ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’.  Each makes the decision to take the plunge.  They all come together as they arrive at the airport in India.  Of course, it becomes apparent immediately the 3rd world paradise they were promised looked better in a brochure than in reality.

Everyone has their own story and personal baggage they bring with them.  I won’t go into the details of their individual stories as that is the charm of the film.  How they deal with this major life change reveals something about their past and who they are as people.  Everyone reacts differently.  Some positive, some negative, and some right in the middle.  It’s almost as if the culture shock augment who they were in their former lives.  As their stories are revealed to us we see the arcs and patterns of their lives and how all their paths led to this point in time.  It was powerfully executed.

Dev Patel (of Slumdog Millionaire fame) plays Sonny Kapoor, the entrepreneurial owner of the hotel, who is trying to resurrect his father’s dream of returning a once glorious hotel to life.  He is the black sheep son of an otherwise successful Indian family.  The hotel has charm, but it definitely has more problems than amenities.  He is desperate to make it a success as it’s the only way he feels he can gain independence from his mother and marry the woman he really wants and not the one arranged for him.  Dev gives a comedically manic performance as an owner who is barely one step above a fast talking con man.

The joy of this film is seeing how all these people, who have lived their entire lives in England, adapt and come to love their new adopted home land (most of them at least).  They evolve from people who dwell on their past and heartaches to ones that look with anticipation to the future.  It doesn’t idealize Indian life, rather it shows that by looking at something with a different perspective, it allows one to see ones self more clearly and honestly.  They come to grips with the heartaches of their lives and learn to let it go.  Instead of viewing this retirement place as the end of their lives, it becomes an exciting new adventure for them.  As Sonny keeps telling them: “Everything is all right in the end, so if it isn’t all right, it isn’t the end”.   It’s a great line and one that resonates throughout the film.

It is an absolute pleasure to see these actors in play.  Each actor is in varsity form and at the top of their craft. They show that despite their character’s worries in the film, they are still relevant and forces with which to be reckoned.  The film is story driven and it’s success or failure depends on the actor’s ability to connect with the audience.  For those that know me I will say something that will surprise you, but I felt that, as much as I loved ‘The Avengers’, this was the superior film.  ‘The Avengers’ was a fantastic visceral thrill ride and I loved every minute of it, but ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ is a film that had a much stronger emotional impact.  It takes a look deep into the hearts of people that could, or possibly will be, any of us as we near the twilights of our lives.  It shows that no matter what the age, we never lose the ability to  change and grow.  People and situations will always come into our lives and have the ability to profoundly touch us.  There is no end in our personal stories, just the starting of new chapters.

I rate this film **** stars