A couple of days ago I realised that I had a movie ticket voucher that expired that same day. Desperate to not let it go to waste, I whisked myself off to the cinema to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - and boy am I glad I did! I enjoyed myself so much during this film that I simply had to tell you all about it and recommend you go and see it for yourself. The exquisite Judi Dench leads an all-star cast including Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Dev Patel (who you probably remember from Slumdog Millionaire) and, of course, Maggie Smith as the hilariously racist Muriel, in this heartfelt comedy drama. As contradictory as that genre sounds, this film beautifully contrasts and combines humour with pain to create a poignancy underneath the comedy.
John Madden (director of Shakespeare in Love) directs this film about a group of British retirees, from all different walks of life, who travel to India to stay at the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel...which is, in fact, not quite as 'exotic' as the name or the advertisements would have them believe. We follow the stories of these people, all fascinating in their own right, and their relationships with each other and the people of India as they struggle to fit in to this vastly different culture.
I was very impressed with all the performances - Judi Dench and Maggie Smith being the two stand outs in my opinion, and it was so good to see Dev Patel again in a more lighthearted role.
This isn't a challenging film and I doubt it will change your worldview (two qualities that I tend to like in movies), but it was a lot of fun and a real 'feel-good' flick with some excellent actors and story telling.
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