FILM REVIEW The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Retirement romp’s charms outweigh flaws

Ciara Moynihan

England is no country for old men (or women). At least that’s the impression given in the opening scenes of ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’, in which it is portrayed as a dreary, expensive country where older people are condemned to be ripped off, patronised, ignored and/or lonely.

The plot centres on the lives of seven characters, an eclectic bunch united only by their ageing frames and a decision to spend their twilight years in Jaipur, India, at the rather promisingly named Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful.

The cast reads like a who’s who of British acting talent. Judi Dench plays Evelyn, a sheltered widow forced to sell her flat by her late husband’s debts. Maggie Smith is Murial, a cantankerous, racist former housekeeper, who travels to India for a hip operation to avoid a  lengthy hospital waiting list in Britain. Penelope Wilton and Bill Nighy are Jean and Douglas, a creaking couple whose retirement fund has disappeared down the black hole of their daughter’s internet start-up company. Madge, played by Celia Imrie, has her periscope permanently raised in search of a rich husband, while Ronald Pickup’s surname could not have been more perfect for the character he plays – a lonely old Lothario called Norman. Finally, Tom Wilkinson adds gravitas as Graham, a High Court judge with a secret.

An injection of youth is provided by Dev Patel, who plays the eternally optimistic hotel manager whose sweetheart fails to meet  the marriage-material criteria set down by his mother.     

The retirees arrive in Jaipur en masse, only do discover that the ‘Best’ in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful should more properly be replaced with ‘Least’. Each deals with this state of affairs, and with India generally, with varying degrees of success.

What follows is, in fairness, a rather predictable story of transformation, love and older people proving that life still has a lot to offer them – and they a lot to offer it. But while the plot may be hackneyed, and the character development a bit rushed, the quality of the dialogue and the acting, both of which sparkle, makes this gently charming comedy well worth the ticket price.

Rating 7 out of 10