A group of elderly people move to a retirement home in India when life in England has let them down. Heading the group is Evelyn (Judi Dench), a recently widowed woman looking to break out of her mold. She is followed by sad old couple Douglas and Jean (Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton), gay ex-judge Graham (Tom Wilkinson), strung out bachelor and bachelorette Norman and Madge (Ronald Pickup, Celia Imrie) and the racist woman in need of a new hip Muriel (Maggie Smith). They are watched over by the hotels owner Sonny (Dev Patel) as they try to adapt to life in one of the most exotic places on earth.
A truly magnificent film, 'best' by far. Think of RED minus the violence and Calendar Girls with humour, this film delivers on multiple levels. The cast (as you may have noticed) is made up of top quality old english actors and actresses, and what a performance they give. Whether it is the dicey comments from Smith, the monologued blog comments from Dench or the old time randy from Pickup and Imrie, they are guaranteed to send one from laughter and grins, to sadness and empathy. The beauty of India is stunningly captured by breathtaking cinematography and the story itself is exquisitely simple, taking the audience to all four corners of India as the audience follows the casts culture shock. In my opinion it is a mark of how enjoyable a film is, simply by whether anybody in the cinema claps at the end - it was clear that I was not the only one who found The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel to be a thoroughly cracking and loveable film. A pity it came into cinema's just a little too late for the Oscars, because it is deserving of several - the only trouble would be how to decide who is best actor and actress.
On one final note, I went to go and see this film in my University cinema, but I was one of the (or probably just the) youngest member of the audience. Many of my fellow film compatriots for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel looked as though they were born when Bill Nighy still had a full head of hair.
