Film review: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

A bunch of British retirees decide to up sticks to India for cheaper living conditions and the chance of one last adventure before the curtain call.

Director: John Madden
Cast: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Dev Patel, Ronald Pickup, Tena Desae, Diana Hardcastle
Rating: (PG)
4 stars (out of 5)

It does not sound particularly enticing. However, all you have to do is read the cast list for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Metro, Rialto and Hoyts) and you are immediately determined to see it.

Dames Maggie Smith and Judi Dench with Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson are exciting enough but I also have a fondness for Celia Imrie and Penelope Wilton, who mostly work in television. No-one is called upon to do anything beyond their repertoire, but how well they all do it. All of the cast have worked with one another in various permutations over the years and I picked up a repertory vibe.

It made me wish that they could have filmed three different versions where everyone swapped roles and wowed you with their versatility. That is the sort of theatre-geek fantasy that gets my heart pounding, but for normal people who want to see something amusing that is a little bit exotic and acted by people who know what they are doing, you are not going to get a better deal all year.

 


Best thing: It has a deliciously cavalier attitude towards age when allocating storylines.

Worst thing: A little too cosy for a film about old age and India but what is wrong with being entertaining?

See it with: Any adult children who need to be softened up for your own retirement plans.


- By Christine Powley

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