Is there an age at which change is no longer possible? When new experiences are out of reach? When to hope for something is merely to court disappointment? Essentially, does life end before one’s heart actually stops beating? “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” a warm, amiable movie about a group of British retirees who move to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel, says no.
The movie begins as though it’s introducing us to new friends. One by one, we meet each retiree at the pivotal moment during which he or she decides to move to India. For Muriel Donnelly, it’s the need for hip replacement surgery, which she can’t afford in England; for Doug and Jean Ainslie, it’s retirement on a civil servant’s pension; for Graham Dashwood, a judge, it’s a desire to unearth someone buried in his youth. There are four others, each of whom is given a brief introduction before they converge at the airport.
Although a tottering, weary bunch, they have the fortitude to travel to a chaotic foreign country and establish a new life. Dashwood, who once lived in India, becomes their de facto leader as they make their way to the hotel, as he’s the only one who knows how to navigate the culture. Jean, a bitter and acerbic woman, spares no moment to express her displeasure to Doug. Muriel, a deeply racist woman, seems afraid to even breathe the same air as the Indian people. And Dashwood stares into space, a heavy burden weighing down his thoughts. Around them, a sea of people and traffic and noise and squalor crowds in around them.
At this point, I have made “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” sound like a pondering drama, but that is not the case. Rather, the writing and the performances are full of humor and energy. I especially liked the moment when Muriel enters her room, sees a dark-skinned person in her room, and turns and whispers to another retiree, “There’s an Indian in my room!” Some of the one-liners are on the nose, but they fit each moment, and they made the pair of elderly ladies sitting in front of me laugh.
The arrival at the hotel is fun. As the retirees file into the overgrown courtyard, clearly not seeing what they were expecting, Sonny Kapoor races to meet them. The phones don’t work, the walls are crawling with filth and the whole structure, built hundreds of years ago, appears to have risen out of a pile of rubble and found a way to momentarily stand intact. Yet Sonny, the young man who inherited the hotel from his father, greets them as though he is welcoming them to a five-star resort. Writer Ol Parker and director John Madden milk Sonny’s ability to put a positive spin on even the worst situations to great comedic effect.
Each character is given a small storyline to follow that is in some way revelatory or brings a resolution to a dilemma in his or her life. For Evelyn Greenslade, wonderfully played by the great Judi Dench, it’s learning what a life without secrets looks like. A widow, she barely knew her husband, despite their years together. For Doug, it’s letting go of a bad relationship. For Sonny, it’s standing up to his mother and boss and all of traditional India to declare his love for the lady he intends to make his wife. For Muriel, it’s letting of her intolerance and bitterness and embracing a new life and people.
While the storylines are predictable, the cast is charming and delivers the performances you’d expect some of the best English actors to deliver. Madden avoids the temptation to be overly dramatic and wisely keeps the movie small and intimate. He was smart enough to realize all of the grandeur and scope of the Indian culture can be seen in a single shot of a busy street. It’s also clear he and everyone else had a lot of affection for these characters.
“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is not a great film, but it is a good one, and it leaves a warm afterglow that makes you believe you can never be too old to change your life, to experience new things and to hope.
Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language. Three stars out of four. Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.