“THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL:” INDIAN SPRING IN THE AUTUMN OF LIFE

How I came across the film, or how the film persistently came to meet me

My dearest friend had invited me to watch a film to the cinema. From the not-so-interesting range of films, we had chosen to watch “The best exotic Marigold hotel,” partly because of its cast, partly because there was nothing more interesting. All was set on Wednesday evening, the next Saturday we would meet at the cinema. The day before the meeting, we realised the film wasn’t broadcasting anymore. I thought “Well, I wasn’t very interested anyway...” But then, some days later I saw one of my former (and favourite) teachers recommended the film on her Facebook wall. I thought “this film is waiting for me, I have to watch it.” Therefore, I did what one shouldn’t do: I downloaded the film illegally. Sorry, but I couldn’t get it anywhere else and I’m probably going to buy it to make up for this mistake.

The story

The story begins in contemporary England, where a group of retirees - Evelyn, Graham, Douglas and Jean Ainslie, Muriel, Norman and Madge – face the truth that age is making them worthless and that what lies ahead may not be as happy and beautiful as it’s supposed to be. In different ways, each of them is leading a miserable life.

Evelyn Greenslade is a widow whose husband has left with a huge debt, and very little to rely on after the debt is cancelled. Her children insist on selling the apartment she lives in so that the debt can be paid and on her going to live with them, but Evelyn doesn’t want to. She has lived so many years with her husband and shared so much with him, that now she seems (in the eyes of others and in her own) to be unable to carry on living by herself. She has the choice to make: go on on her own or stick to her children’s lives. She also runs her own blog, and is very technology friendly.

Graham Dashwood is a bitter “high-court judge.” He is in constant melancholy, and seems to have led a very regrettable life. We don’t know what happened to him until well into the film. In fact he’s very reserved as to his feelings and doesn’t trust others very much, both because of his job and because of a personal characteristic I won’t reveal here.

Douglas and Jean Ainslie are a life-long couple who are somewhat tired of each other and whose lives used to be high-standard. When Douglas retired, they decided to help their daughter investing the retirement money in her business and things didn’t turn out as expected. Now, when they are supposed to live the real comfort of life (after a long life of work, you enjoy what you deserve without doing much), they face adversity’s ugliest face: having had quite a lot of money, they cannot afford but a medium to small house with not as many comforts as expected. While Douglas sort of accepts it with his tail between his legs, Jean complains about it all the time and transfers her disappointment to each and every situation. When trouble is likely to appear, Douglas can rest assured it will due to his wife’s attitude.

Muriel Donnelly is the typical conservative, proud nationalist Englishwoman who doesn’t conceive her life in the hands of non-English people. What’s more, she’s a childless spinster, which makes her somewhat cruel to those she doesn’t like. She lives in a very small world, where she’s the queen and wants everything done her own way. Her story starts at a hospital, where we (together with her) learn that she needs a hip replacement which can only be done abroad. We will learn about her past well into the film too, but I don’t want to spoil so much.

Norman Cousins and Madge Hardcastle, not a couple by the way, are two picaresque flirts. They are single and widow respectively, and are in the search for a new lover. Norman has no one to give explanations to, whereas Madge doesn’t care what her family think about or tell her. They want to find a person ready to love passionately and physically, the way they do.

All of these troubled people meet at the airport before they embark on a trip to India, where they’ll stay at a (they think) marvellous, charming and very comfortable hotel. The trip they are about to initiate will change their lives for ever. And not only their lives, but also the lives of some of the people they meet there.

What I liked about this film

First of all, I liked the performances. Many of the members of the cast are excellent actors. Well-known is my love for Dame Maggie Smith, who plays laughable and loveable Muriel. She has an admirable ability to deliver the funniest lines of the film with an air of seriousness that makes you doubt whether you have to laugh (in a loving way) at the character or hate her for being so narrow-minded. Besides I love her choosing to play characters like that: she makes them unique. I’m thinking of Minerva McGonnagall, of lady Violet Crawley and of the one we’re concerned with.

I also want to emphasize the abilities for acting of Dame Judi Dench and Penelope Wilton (Evelyn and Jean respectively.) Judi makes you feel Evelyn’s melancholy and sadness and makes your eyes go watery when she cries. Penelope Wilton is also incredibly effective in making you hate Jean and even sympathise with poor Douglas.

The male actors do their part fantastically enough too. More than good are the performances of Tom Wilkinson (Graham Dashwood) and Dev Patel (Sonny Kapoor, the optimistic, commercial and kind-hearted dreamer who runs hotel that names the film.)

Secondly, I really liked the plot of the film. I found it somewhat similar to 2010 film “Eat, pray, love,” where a divorced woman travels to three different destinations in the quest for happiness after realising how unhappy her present life is. Even if they are very similar in this respect (and, mind you, in both films India is a life-defining setting,) I enjoyed Marigold better due to various reasons. First because it involves not only one person but many, who are unhappy not only because of matrimonial affairs. Secondly, because I find the story behind Marigold closer personally. Living so close to my grandparents, I can personally attest the universality of the reasons of these people to look for happiness when the world is turning against them.

Finally, I liked its optimism and good spirit. It has many lessons not only for people near their retiring age, but for people of all ages. I particularly liked the hopeful Indian motto that goes “Everything will be alright in the end. If it’s not alright, then it’s not yet the end.” It’s much better to live with hope for something better than to complain for what looks awful now. If it’s so awful and you’ve got the power to change it, do.

India will blow these people away and shake up their drowsy, maybe numb hearts and “assault their senses” in such a way that they will remember their happiest days and be encouraged to go for it once more. In the Autumn of their lives, when everything is tearing apart, happiness will make its way through the weed and bloom like a fragrant jasmine in Spring. The ultimate moral behind this film is “You only live once, enjoy your stay here.”

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Writing by Federico M. Bones

None of the images posted belong to me, and they're not used with any commercial or financial interest. They've been used for the sake of illustration of the written text.