Reviews & Ratings for
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a film directed by John Madden. Since the film was with me in my DVR, I decided to give this a watch with no hopes. But at the end of it, I felt very satisfied.

Plot: A group of British pensioners moving to a retirement hotel in India, run by the young and eager Sonny.

Story and direction: If I do watch it from a story point of view, it isn’t ground-breaking in any way. The film has the most predictable story ever. We have a couple facing issues, an old man finding a perfect mate for himself, a woman who is fearful of almost everything, etc.. These themes have been dealt with in ample number of films. But what attracted me to this film more is the setting and the characters. The characters of the film make the story so believable that you can forget the story for some time and enjoy the flow of the movie. India is shown in the best way possible. I being an Indian was happy in the ay India was depicted here. It showed me the real India. The atmosphere and climate of the film instantly attracted me. Ben Davis has done a wonderful job of capturing the very essence of India. Thomas Newman’s score also adds to the beauty of the film. He scores the film the way A R Rahman would have scored it.

Performances: This film is filled with wonderful performances. Judi Dench just lives her role and it is always a treat to watch her perform. The same can be said for Maggie Smith. Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton play the most realistic husband-wife with ease. Ronald Pickup and Celia Imrie also complemented the film. Diana Hardcastle gave a compelling performance. Tom Wilkinson made us believe in his character by his incredible performance. Dev Patel and Tina Desae gave earnest performances. It was good to see Lilette Dubey too. The other local Indian actor added to the beauty of this film.

Favorite Scene: It would be the one where Douglas comforts Evelyn much to the chagrin of his wife, Jean. It showed the bond that formed between the characters Douglas and Evelyn very nicely.

Verdict: With its stellar performances and its premise, if the film would have worked on the story going rather an unconventional route rather than the route that has been taken several times, the film would have worked wonders. Nevertheless, I had a good time watching the film.

I am going with an 8/10.

The movie starts on a tense note where we see these old people living different lives all tensed about something or the other; all a little lonely inside.
These characters have lived most of their life and are yet trying to find something that they do not even know.
The movie captures their journeys and feelings that arise when they come to India and are compelled to expect the unexpected.
The star-cast is strong and experienced and the story moves steadily and leisurely representing the age of retirement in itself. The message is clear and complete in itself and the plot is well-rounded.

I happened to see this movie today and frankly speaking__as its timeline moved forward, so is my interest. It built the emotion in me, a feeling of goodness in me and I just prayed to God that it should never end_____and it never did.
A Masterpiece.