MOVIE REVIEW: "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" teaches many life lessons
Have you ever wondered what would happen if group of British retirees dropped everything they had and moved to India?
Well, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” can give you an idea.
Based on the novel “These Foolish Things” by Deborah Moggach, the film follows elderly British people who simply weren’t getting enough out of life. They each decide to move to India and live at The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful. They meet in the airport and collectively decipher everyday Indian life in order to get to the hotel.
Once they get there, they realize the hotel is not exactly what they signed up for. The building seems to be crumbling, and some rooms don’t even have doors.
However, they all decide to stick it out, and many venture outside the hotel walls and fall in love with Indian culture.
The vibrant setting and enchanting soundtrack help audience members understand why the characters were able to so easily fall in love with the South Asian country.
In addition, every cast member performed marvelously. While moviegoers may come for the performances of classic actors Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith, they will stick around for the charming Dev Patel and Tena Desae, who play a young Indian couple fighting against the tradition of arranged marriages.
Indian culture, both traditional and contemporary, was effortlessly weaved into the plot, so audience members are able to expand their horizons while enjoying a dramatic and hilarious film.
In addition, many life lessons are offered for viewers young and old through the experiences and regrets of the various characters.
The most important lesson of the movie is that the only guarantee of the future is that it will be a change. People can try to resist change, but in doing so they will not reap all the benefits that life can give them.
In this way, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a better use of time and money than other options that simply offer an escape from reality.
Rating: 4 out of 4 stars.
