I’m trying not to rant about that frustrating dichotomy too much, but it’s hard to disregard, especially because “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is otherwise quite charming, really. As a tale about retired Brits trying to reinvent themselves in a new place, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is buoyed by the strength of super-established actors like Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, and Tom Wilkinson. But for a film that portrays India as this place of creative identity, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” refuses to peer too deeply into the country’s background or cultural present. The movie could have been set anywhere; India functions solely as a set-piece for these retirees to run around and have some fun.
Therefore the film, based on the 2004 novel “These Foolish Things” by Deborah Moggach and adapted by Ol Parker, treats India merely as a playground—and that kind of entitlement keeps it from being anything more than a daytime drama-like fantasy.
Much like any good soap opera, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” has a large cast of characters, whom director John Madden unveils by slapping their names on the screen during a lengthy intro sequence. All retirees, the senior citizens decide to move to India after being lured in by the Marigold Hotel, supposedly a beautiful facility where they can spend the rest of their lives.
Traveling to Jaipur, India, is a varied group. There are the lonely ones: widow Evelyn (Judi Dench, of “My Week with Marilyn”), severely undercut by her dead husband’s debts; and loveless married couple Douglas (Bill Nighy, of “Wrath of the Titans”) and Jean (Penelope Wilton), broke after investing in their daughter’s failed Internet venture. There are the wanderers: Madge (Celia Imrie), who refuses to blandly stay at home and be someone’s boring old grandmother; and Norman (Ronald Pickup), who realizes he can’t keep searching for hookups on dating sites because of his advancing age. And there are also the general misfits, including raging racist Muriel (Maggie Smith, of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” and “Part 2”), in need of a hip replacement, and Graham (Tom Wilkinson, of “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”), a respected judge with a lengthy career but solitary demeanor.
As they all reach the hotel, they realize a few things: First, that young owner Sonny (Dev Patel, of “The Last Airbender”) was exaggerating a bit when he called the place a “luxury development for residents in their golden years”—it’s actually kind of a dump, a source of stress for Sonny and his infuriatingly controlling mother (Lillette Dubey). And secondly, that each of the Brits really traveled to India in search of something, some new purpose that can reinvigorate their lives. As they go about pursuing their transformations, they end up crossing paths in unexpected—and impactful—ways.
Graham looks to find a lost love who he let slip away in his younger years. Searching for companionship, Evelyn and Douglas engage in a hesitant attraction that threatens to alter his marriage to Jean. And Muriel, at first an evil old lady who just wants a fast surgery in India and a faster trip home, begins to realize her more humane side when she befriends a hotel housekeeper who is part of a lower caste. As the travelers begin to experience all the exotic, unusual things India has to offer, they don’t just change what they thought about the country—they also gently evolve what they thought about themselves.
There’s a lot more character development than there is country development, which works well in a sense because Dench, Smith, Nighy, and Wilkinson get to do their thing onscreen. All those years of experience count for something, since they slip comfortably and wholly into their roles. Smith, familiar to young audiences as Minerva McGonagall in the “Harry Potter” films, is particularly vitriolic as the bigoted Muriel, an impressive turn against-type. And when has Dench ever been anything but utterly enchanting? As she and Nighy begin their gentle flirtation, it’s a fittingly cute pairing.
The film works most, however, as a vehicle for Wilkinson, whom we’re used to playing stuffed-shirt types in “Mission: Impossible” and “The Debt.” Here, as a conflicted man attempting to reconcile his youth, regret comes off him in waves. There’s a sorrow and grief to his performance that gives “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” a grounded, real quality, one that nicely counteracts the hijinks the other characters get up to in Jaipur.
But with such a large, talented cast, inevitably some are left with little to do—and that means Patel gets pushed aside. Despite a solid sense of physical comedy, Patel doesn’t get a chance to play Sonny as anything more than an ethnic stereotype. And as the largest Indian role in the film, it’s upsetting that he’s relegated to such an expected characterization.
That’s how Madden and Parker treat India, though, like it’s full of happy natives eager to please with fun moped rides, energetic festivals and parades, and serenely beautiful temples. There is a superficial idea of India at play here, and though the veneer sometimes becomes too gratingly stereotypical, the strong performances from Dench, Smith, and everyone else involved means “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is a predictable-but-serene place to stay for a little while.
