THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL: Blu-ray (Fox Searchlight 2011) Fox Home Video
Too few
contemporary movies are interested in imparting the maxims of life on an
audience; fewer still, willing to embrace topical narratives devoted to the
challenges inevitably faced with the passage of time. For one reason or
another, Hollywood has always had great difficulty accepting the fact not
everyone is twenty-one and built like the proverbial brick latrine. At least in
its heyday, Tinsel Town did acknowledge
the elderly were among us in the grandfatherly/motherly types frequently populating
the backdrops of their filmed fairytales; to be mindful of their presence and
respectful towards their sage wisdom, only possible when the bloom of youth had
decidedly worn off. By contrast, today’s cinema has chosen to all but ignore
the natural aging process as a deliberate and factual part of life.
Grandparents in contemporary movies are virtually nonexistent, while parental
expertise is frequently made the brunt of quaintly idiotic jokes or discarded altogether.
If parents appear at all in American movies these days, then they are getting
decidedly younger every year, presumably still ‘with it’ and young enough to
pursue their own sexual appetites and other desires, despite having tipped the
scales at the age of, say, thirty-five!
How refreshing
then to rediscover director, John Madden’s The
Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011); an uncharacteristically bright and
breezy, life-affirming and soul-searching little gemstone of a movie, imbued
with a withstanding veneration for the more threadbare among us. Ol Parker’s
screenplay, borrowing its inspiration from Deborah Moggach’s novel, ‘These
Foolish Things’, brings together seven strangers from disparate backgrounds
who share but two common traits; they all hail from Britain and second, each
has entered their emeritus years, rather unexpectedly it seems, to face the endurance of a world having strangely – and quite suddenly, moved on without them. Funny,
how some people choose to live their lives as horses; sprinting from moment to
moment, bucking at every turn, whinnying the quiet moments away and ultimately
trading in their golden years for glue. Yet, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel fosters an admiration for such nags,
especially after the blinders have come off and the journey toward genuine
self-discovery begins; the race given up for a good sack of wild oats.
If, as weary
traveler, Evelyn Greenslade (Judi Dench) astutely suggests in her daily blog
posts, that nothing on earth can prepare these new arrivals for the abject
chaos of modern Jaipur, India; a cluttered, colorful and chaotic, abstractly
decaying, yet burgeoning cesspool of optimism, then the intensity of the
climate and city smells – some more welcomed than others – also, the
overcrowding – are a trial by fire designed to sacrifice old habits, soon to be
replaced by a newfound spirit of adventurism. In absence of genuine logic, blind optimism
will usually suffice, although not all the travelers attending The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel will
learn this fundamental life lesson. By plane, bus and tuk-tuks, across rigorous
terrain and winding highways, narrowly averting a collision with an oncoming
truck, our miscellaneous brood of outcasts soon discovers they are in for a
most remarkable renaissance and a profound spiritual awakening. The
aforementioned Evelyn is perhaps the most sanguine of this bunch; having
recently discovered, after the loss of her beloved husband, Hugh, that mounting
debts have forced her to reconsider this life alone, now seemingly at the mercy
of a frustrated son (Jay Villiers) and financial
advisor (Paul Bentall) who would rather see her ‘taken care of’ than satisfied in her beliefs she can make a fresh
start on her own.
In another
part of town, we are introduced to Judge Graham Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson) who, upon attending a
fellow colleague’s retirement party under duress, makes the impromptu
announcement he too is leaving the girth of his nearly forty years on the bench
to posterity. Graham’s zest for India is not plagued by necessity. Or is it?
Although financially independent, Graham harbors a more profound secret,
drawing him closer to an imperfect past. Then, there are the Ainslies, Douglas
(Bill Nighy) and Jean (Penelope Wilton). She is an impossible prig, nattering
and overly chatty in an outwardly superficial and pleasant way to strangers,
masking her teeming contempt for Douglas’ misguided loyalty to their daughter;
he, having invested their entire thirty years life’s savings in a failed
internet company. We are introduced to
Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith), flat on her back inside an overcrowded English
hospital; ailing with a bad hip and even worse attitude with racist overtones.
After refusing to be attended by a black physician, Muriel is informed by East
Indian practitioner, Dr. Ghujarapartidar (Paul Bhattacharjee) of an
inter-hospital exchange program; her surgery completed in record time without
the usual six-month delay. The last of our troop is comprised of Madge
Hardcastle (Celia Imrie) and Norman Cousins (Ronald Pickup), destined to form
the unlikeliest bond of friendship predicated on a bias: each, seeking new love
for their old and withering bodies – or at the very least, a sense of
companionship and reason to belong. She is a grandmother by circumstance who
has had quite enough of doing the ‘grandmotherly’ things for an ungrateful
daughter (Sara Stewart) and son-in-law (Simon Wilson). Norman is a randy old
sod, first glimpsed attending a speed dating mixer in which all the other
single hopefuls are between the ages of 25 and 35.
Societal
normalcy is judged by how well one conforms to standards established beyond
everyone’s control. But in Jaipur, these
circumstances are compounded by a jolt of culture clash. Some will look upon
the city as an escape, a folly or even a catastrophe. But virtually all will be
blessed by a most wonderful and unexpected adventure that realigns their
expectations with a most profoundly personal outlook on each of their lives.
Asked by Evelyn at the start of their sojourn whether or not the trip will be
safe, Graham replies, “No, it’s going to
be extraordinary.” And so it is; beginning with an absolute immersion of
the senses. The group’s introduction to The
Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is anything but promising and initially
overwhelming. The hotel is managed by Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel); an optimistic
boy, desperately in love with Sunaina (Tena Desae), a call center operator.
Sunaina’s brother, business-minded young Turk, Jay (Sid Makkar) does not
approve of their love match, and neither does Sonny’s mother (Lillete Dubey),
an affluent matriarch living in Dubai, disappointed by Sonny’s determination to
cling to his late father’s dream of resurrecting the hotel to its former glory.
And quite a resurrection it shall be, considering the present state of decay; grotesquely
limited in its amenities, with leaky faucets, crumbling facades and bird-invested
rooms, some of them even missing doors.
In the days
that pass, life progresses at a heady pace. Prompted by a fairly confrontational
phone call she had with a call center employee while still living in England,
over her late husband’s computer account, Evelyn applies for a job at the call
center managed by Jay. He momentarily attempts to dissuade Evelyn from pursuing
the position. It is a young person’s place, most of the screeners recently
graduated from the university. However, Jay is most impressed with Evelyn’s
ability to navigate the culture-clash and disconnect between his employees and
their aged clientele, who generally reside outside of India. He therefore appoints
Evelyn as his company’s new cultural liaison; her first order of business, to
re-educate the screeners in a more unscripted approach to their phone
etiquette and diplomacy. In the
meantime, Graham hires a livery to take him to the old neighborhood where he
once grew up in relative affluence. He is mildly shocked to discover virtually
all the residential properties long since torn down and the neighborhood
reduced to slums where young boys indulge themselves in a game of cricket.
Coaching one of the boys in how best to hold the cricket bat, Graham gains
their collective respect. Alas, his heart is heavy in more ways than one.
Although no
one knows it yet, Graham is suffering from acute heart failure. As all the
guests gather in the evening to regal one another with their adventures, Evelyn
confides to Graham she has a job. Douglas tells Graham he took his advice to
explore a most extraordinary temple of meditation. At dinner, Norman nods off
and collapses onto the floor, his fall mistaken for sudden death by Sonny until
Norman stirs back to life with a rather wily grin, thus, delighting everyone
with a badly-needed, hearty good laugh. By now, the guests have realized their
dreams of a cultured East Indian retreat have been predicated on Sonny’s false
promises to provide them with luxury accommodations. The boy has not been
devious, so much as he has desperately hoped to bring new life to his father’s
old dream; explaining to Jean, “In India
we have a very old saying. ‘Everything will be alright in the end. If it is not
alright…then it must not be the end.” Slowly, the hotel’s guests begin to
settle in, abandoning old habits as the days wear on into weeks. For some more
than others, this is easily accomplished. Muriel has her surgery, overseen by a
kindly physiotherapist (Bhuvnesh Shetty) who appoints, a high cast Hindu, Anokhi
(Seema Azmi) as her temporary servant.
Believing he
has found a true friend in Evelyn, Graham regales her with a great failing in
his personal history. Nearly forty years before, he fell in love with a young
East Indian man, Manoj (Rajendra Gupta), the son of his father’s servant. The
two were discovered together by their respective families; Graham’s father
exiling Manoj and his entire family and sending his son back to England to
pursue a law degree. For these past forty years, Graham has wondered what
became of the man he so desperately loved – the only relationship that ever
meant anything to him. Evelyn encourages Graham to pursue the matter by
contacting a nearby consulate to learn if Manoj is still alive. Time is of the
essence, as Graham realizes his heart ailment is fast getting the better of
him. Meanwhile, Madge attends the Viceroy Club, encouraged by its secretary (Denzil
Smith) to join – for a fee. Madge endeavors to pass herself off as Princess
Margaret, presumably to finagle a cheaper administration fee. However, the
secretary is no fool, pointing out that for a woman who has been dead for
nearly nine years, Madge is remarkably well preserved.
Madge is
hoping to find a rich husband at this haughty and exclusive club. But after a
personal inquiry she is escorted by the club’s barman (Sandeep Lele) and introduced
to a man believed to be ‘His Royal Highness’ – none other than Norman, pursuing
the same failed ruse to meet and seduce eligible women. Norman suggests Madge
is cramping his style, although she informs him he has absolutely none to
cramp. However, Madge is sympathetic to Norman’s needs, perhaps because they so
closely mirror her own. So, she approaches an attractive woman seated at the
bar, Carol (Diana Hardcastle). Carol and Madge hit it off. Not so much Carol
and Norman, as he desperately bungles his introduction to her with a series of
jaunty and egotistical comments about her toned figure. Realizing he has
completely botched his first impression, Norman recants and confesses, “Can’t we drop this pretense and start over?
My name’s Norman and I’m lonely” to which Carol kindly replies, “My name’s Carol…so am I.”
In the
meantime, things have gone from bad to worse for Sonny and Sunaina after she sneaks
into his bedroom in the middle of the night for a surprise seduction. Alas,
Sonny has given his room to Madge who is more confused than startled by the sudden
appearance of a very attractive young girl in her bed. Sonny’s mother is
awakened by the commotion and outraged, suspecting Sunaina to be a prostitute.
Mrs. Kapoor orders Sunaina out of this ‘respectable’ hotel. In Sunaina’s defense,
Sonny points out to his mother she came to the room not to have sex with Madge,
but rather with him. It now becomes clear to Mrs. Kapoor she must encourage her
other two sons – both prosperous and living abroad – to sell off their shares
in the hotel, thereby forcing Sonny to come home with her to Dubai. “Your life will be better there,” Mrs.
Kapoor insists. “No,” Sonny objects, “It will be smaller!” For some time thereafter, relations between
Sonny and Sunaina are strained. Sonny pursues a private investor, Mr. Maruthi (Vishnu
Sharma) in the hopes of gaining an influx of badly needed capital to continue
with phase two of his hotel renovations.
For a long
while, Jean has felt trapped by her circumstances, unable to find anything
remotely pleasant about either the hotel or the prospect of remaining ‘happily’
retired in Jaipur. She tries in vain to befriend Graham; then, makes an awkward
romantic play for him, to which he quietly confesses his homosexuality. Not
long thereafter, Graham informs Evelyn and Douglas the consulate has managed to
locate Manoj. Long ago, he married a
kind woman, Gaurika (Neena Kulkarni), remaining truthful to her by disclosing
his affair with Graham, the one man who has continued to occupy his heart these
many years since their separation. The two friends are tearfully reunited as
Evelyn and Douglas look on. In the meantime, Norman goes to a local physician,
hoping to impress Carol with his sexual prowess by securing a prescription for
Viagra. Instead, she exchanges his pills for two aspirin; both, pleasantly surprised
when his stamina holds out all night long. The next morning, Norman and Graham
discuss their mutual fulfillments after so many long years of emptiness in
their respective lives. Norman departs to take a shower and Evelyn discovers
Graham still seated in the courtyard some hours later. She has had a very
promising day at work, but her joyful news is deflated when she suddenly
realizes Graham has suffered a fatal heart attack. As per Graham’s last
request, Manoj arranges for a traditional Hindu burial in Udaipur;
Graham’s remains burned on a pyre as his friends look on, his ashes later
committed to Lake Pichola by Manoj.
Heartbroken
over the loss of her friend, a tearful Evelyn is momentarily comforted by
Douglas; an act of compassion that incurs Jean’s wrath. In turn, Douglas leaves
Evelyn to confront his wife, at long last standing up to her chastisements of
him, in essence confessing he has remained ever-devoted to her, although merely
out of a sense of loyalty to their marriage – not love, despite her awful attitude.
Douglas now calls her out as the truly ‘terrible person’. Not long thereafter,
the Ainslies join the other mourners as a united front with Jean making the
impromptu announcement ‘they’ have decided to return to England at once.
Douglas is clearly not happy about this decision, but nevertheless remains
compliant with his wife’s edict. Back at
the hotel, Muriel looks over the books and realizes Sonny’s plan to transform
the hotel into a retreat for ‘the beautiful and elderly’ has genuine merit. She
sets into motion a series of contacts that will help Sonny achieve his goals,
appointing herself executive manager to secure the necessary loans. Alas, as Douglas
and Jean prepare to depart, he makes a last ditch effort to say goodbye to
Evelyn. With Muriel’s complicity, Evelyn hides from view, certain she will be
unable to resist sending him off without a show of tears. As fate would have
it, Jean and Douglas’ tuk-tuk is caught in heavy traffic. Determined not to
miss their flight, Jean employs a rickshaw for one, confessing to Douglas she
suddenly realizes their marriage is over. If he follows her now, he will only
be doing it out of that same flawed sense of loyalty.
Douglas
nevertheless pursues Jean to the airport, but misses their flight. After
travelling mostly on foot all through the night, Douglas returns to Jaipur,
startling Evelyn with his presence. He informs her of his desire to remain
behind and pursue a relationship with her. Inside, she rejoices in the prospect
of starting a new romance. Under advice from Muriel, Sonny storms the call
center, ordering Jay to step aside as he pledges his unwavering devotion to
Sunaina, whom he has not seen since their disastrous botched rendezvous at the
hotel. A short while later, Sunaina is properly presented to Mrs. Kapoor, whom
she still denies as a suitable mate for her son until an elderly worker at the
hotel reminds Mrs. Kapoor of the life she once shared with Sonny’s late father;
a man she dearly loved. Realizing nothing she could say will change her son’s
mind or heart, Mrs. Kapoor gives her blessing to their marriage.
In Evelyn’s
penultimate blog post, she quietly explains the moral of the story (something
virtually all movies from Hollywood’s golden age used to have, but precious few
from our contemporary compost of film fodder sincerely attempt, much less
embrace): that “the person who risks
nothing, does nothing – has nothing. All we know about the future is that it
will be different. But perhaps what we fear is that it will be the same. So we
must celebrate the changes…because as someone once said, ‘Everything will be
alright in the end…and if it isn’t alright, then trust me – it’s not yet the
end.”’ The movie concludes with Douglas and Evelyn enjoying a spirited ride
through Jaipur on motorcycle, their twilight romance eloquently contrasted with
the excitement and joy of Sonny and Sunaina’s engagement; this couple, also seen
speeding through the cluttered byways on Sonny’s moped.
In an age of
progressively disengaged and less than engaging cinema pop art, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a
celebratory movie-going experience. Director, John Madden, whose work I have
greatly admired for some time, delivers a vivacious exaltation of life on the
cusp of renewal, even as the darkening clouds have already gathered on these
prospective horizons. The sheer joy of the piece extends far beyond the luxury
of seeing some truly fine thespians giving us their all in a story expertly
scripted. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
is therefore a refreshing change of pace from the usual fluff that adorns our
movie marquees these days. Clearly, Madden cherishes the nuggets of wisdom
imbedded in Ol Parker’s beautifully designed scenarios. In only 124 min. Madden
and Parker manage to invest us in the mundane lives of seven extraordinary
individuals from the Geritol sect, each unwilling to fade quietly into obscurity.
At least by conventional cinema standards, these characters are deemed
relatively ‘unattractive’ simply because they have transgressed beyond the
invisibly designed boundaries of what constitutes a person’s ‘prime’, or our
collective expectations for the stars to remain perennially young and
beautiful.
Yet, here is a
story, that despite its marginal focus on Sonny and Sunaina’s romance, is more emphatically
enmeshed with reconnoitering the sublime nature of mature men and women, unafraid
to admit they lack the answers to life’s grand mystery, but equally as fearless
to pursue it on their own terms. Arguably, a story like this could only be told
from the vantage of a thought-numbing culture clash; the ideal proving ground to
unearth their journeys and direct them toward a more insightful inkling of
self-discovery and enlightenment. In the final analysis, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a very rare lotus blossom indeed,
full of mysticism, romance and the spirit of adventurism – though fascinatingly,
absence of pervading nostalgia; for it suggests, illustrates, and then,
assuredly confirms there is nothing to fear of the future, least of all in our inevitable decline in
physical prowess. We are impermanent creatures, only meant to
leave our marks upon a seemingly more permanent world; life intermingled
through time and fostered with a grander understanding of profoundness for the
journey taken, the roads traveled, and the byways as yet to be fully explored.
Fox Home Video’s
Blu-ray is, in a word, gorgeous; the 1080p hi-def image bursting with a robust
palette of lush and invigorating colors; rich turquoises, lurid pinks and
vibrant purples, married to burnt sienna and intensely lush greens. It’s an
exquisite representation of the original 35mm film source with spot on contrast
and a naturally thick grain structure playing host to a startling amount of
refined details, particularly in faces, hair and clothing textures. You are
going to love this disc. The lossless DTS 5.1 audio is a potpourri of indigenous
SFX, expertly placed dialogue and Thomas Newman’s evocative score. Extras are
the only genuine disappointment; a series of hastily assembled junkets totaling
a scant 14 minutes and designed to promote the movie to the press, featuring
nothing beyond snippets and sound bites from some cast and crew, with only a
superficial gloss over the elements gone into the movie’s design, incubation
and execution. These do not pass for a comprehensive ‘making of’ but are just superfluous
and deadly dull. At the very least, Fox could have given us an isolated score
track or perhaps an audio commentary. But no – none of that. So, pass on the
extras. Bottom line: The Best Exotic
Marigold Hotel is a must see voyage into exoticism. Emphatically, yes!
FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)
5+
VIDEO/AUDIO
4.5
EXTRAS
1
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