My Views on the Marigold Hotel

[therealsnape]

This week I've seen the Marigold Hotel. I had quite looked forward to it, and I must say, I was not disappointed. On the contrary. It's a peach of a movie. Of course, a precondition for enjoyment is that one is willing to accept it for what it is: a feel-good movie with a gentle message. Not the easiest of combinations to achieve, but the feel-good part is great. And in my opinion, the messages are worth listening to, and precisely because they are delivered in a very gentle, non-confrontational way, without agression or self-righteousness, they might reach quite a lot of people.

A movie that wants to show a group of elderly people in a positive light always runs the risk of turning the characters into cutesy oldies. In my opinion, the makers have mostly managed to avoid that, both because of an excellent script and because of an all-star cast that makes the very most of each line they deliver.

I liked the depiction of India, too. There are no tourist-brochure-pretty images. True, there is no depiction of the most gruelling poverty, either, but that would fit neither the feel-good intention nor the story-line. And I think a 'let's look for everything that's most wrong' approach wouldn't really do justice to present-day India either.

In short, I can strongly recommend The Marigold, and I'm going to buy the DVD as soon as it comes out.

In long, there's a more detailed report under the cut, without major story-line spoilers, but with some unavoidable information.



First of all, the characters. Some of them could so easily have turned into mere caricatures: the nagging wife, the sex-crazed one-woman smut brigade, the pathetic roué, the racist old lady. But thanks to the brilliant actors (who had some great lines to work with) I found the characters mostly believable and three-dimensional.

Penelope Wilton is the wife from hell, true, and I did feel for her husband. But at the same time I felt sorry for her. So completely out of her depth in India, desperately lonely, disappointed in everything. And the disappointments just don't stop. I was glad of the way her story line ended - one may hope that things will be a bit better for her. Not ideal, she's not that kind of person, but a bit more bearable, perhaps.

It's telling of the amount of detail and care in this movie that even such small props as the book a character reads are carefully chosen. On the occasion where we get a close-up of Wilton's choice of reading material, it's absolutely spot on. Part of me felt sorry, part of me wanted to say, "Get a grip, woman, and move ON!"

Celia Imrie has been saddled with a part that is not unlike Golden Girl Blanche, only she's less succesful in getting men into her bed. But in this interpretation, she does retain dignity. The scene in which she helps roué Norman is great. She sets about it completely the wrong way. And then Norman is even worse, in a toe-curdling awkward way, and Imrie's God-help-us reaction is great. And Norman, too, is a walking cliche, until the moment when he drops the mask and is just himself.

Need I say that Maggie Smith does both needle-sharp racism and heartbreaking vulnerability to perfection? There'a a scene where she's on an operation trolley - blanket up to her chin, no movement at all, and the amount of fear and loneliness and vulnerability she packs in that one close-up is hair-raising.

Dev Patel is the only one who crosses the caricature-line occasionally, but he has some fine moments, too. And it must be said that his script is difficult - it's easy to go over the top. Also, one tends to compare actors in a movie with each other, and in the case of Patel, that just isn't fair. The others have acted for longer than he has lived.

As to the various story lines, overall I liked them a lot. Critics have pointed out that there are a lot of shortcuts. And they say this as if it's a bad thing. Now, shortcuts can be a bad thing, of course. But they can also be a necessity. And they can be a compliment to the viewer - one assumes that a viewer is capable of filling in blanks and doesn't need to have every single action spelled out in detail.

If one wants to show the storylines of eight people in one single normal-length movie, shortcuts are a necessity. Especially when seven of those eight people have lived long lives with long backstories - there's material enough for eight full movies.

When I judge a story line, I do so as a writer and as a beta. Especially, since it's someone else's story, as a beta. So what would I have said about the script, had Ol Parker asked me to beta it?

I'd say it's a good story. In most cases, the parts we don't see can be filled in believably and in-character, and you don't have to bend over backwards to come up with a likely explanation for what happened off-screen.

My definition of a bend-over-backwards thing is, for instance, Augusta's vulture hat. Canon allows us to fill in blanks with a strong, dignified Augusta - except for the damn hat. That's just about cheap laughs and caricature, and it takes some explaining-away.

There's little that needs explaining-away in the Marigold. The Kama Sutra scene and the Princess Margareth scene are both slightly 'cheap laugh' material - the actors render them quite funny, but they're not the best parts. But otherwise, the stories worked fine for me.

The only annoying short-cut is the one taken in the arranged-marriage plotline. The argument given to make a parent change their mind might well work - that part is not unbelievable. But the immediate change of mind is. Arranged marriages are damn difficult to get out of, what with loss of face for the family. The argument might make one think, but not change on the spot.

But other than those very minor issues, it's a great movie - good script, brilliant acting, an all-star cast, and a message I like.

It's not just that older people are interesting, have friendships, and love-lives. It's also about the way our society treats them. In the opening scenes, where the characters and their motivation to join the Marigold Hotel are introduced, this becomes clear. Through showing, not telling, which I prefer. Imrie is used as a cheap babysit, Wilton and her husband are relegated to a ghetto for oldies (the scene in which she berates the ghastly real-estate chap is priceless). The other stories are equally telling.

And at one point, young Dev Patel explains his mother why the Marigold isn't just his dream, but a viable business proposition for which there is a huge market: "Mum, there are lots of countries where they despise their elderly! We can get people from everywhere!"

My message to you: don't miss it.

Comments

[kellychambliss.livejournal.com]

I'm skipping your detailed comment because I still cherish hopes of seeing the film in a theatre, but I'm thrilled to hear that we get neither cute, feisty oldsters or an India that feeds the worst Western dreams (those had been my main fears about the pic; I had no doubt that the performances would be delightful.)

Great icon.

[tetleythesecond]

As always, TRS is absolutely spot-on! I do hope you get to see it somewhere soon!

[squibstress.livejournal.com]

Um... ditto what Kelly said.

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

Go and see it, if you get a chance. It's fab.

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

I think you'll love it; I hope you'll get a chance. And, of course, I look forward to your views.

[tetleythesecond]

TRS, you are wonderful!!! I second every single one of your words and thoughts. These are exactly my feelings. Let me quote ...

a feel-good movie with a gentle message. Not the easiest of combinations to achieve, but the feel-good part is great. And in my opinion, the messages are worth listening to, and precisely because they are delivered in a very gentle, non-confrontational way, without agression or self-righteousness, they might reach quite a lot of people.
This. So very much this. There is a lot of learning going on in the movie, in all sorts of ways. With laughs.

I liked the depiction of India, too. There are no tourist-brochure-pretty images. True, there is no depiction of the most gruelling poverty, either, but that would fit neither the feel-good intention nor the story-line. And I think a 'let's look for everything that's most wrong' approach wouldn't really do justice to present-day India either.
And this! The movie did not gloss over the fact that there is poverty and inequality. But people kept their dignity. I've often heard people from poor countries feel exposed when Westerners just can't for once give the "looking for the worst" a miss. This one, I find, walked that tightrope well.

Penelope Wilton is the wife from hell, true, and I did feel for her husband. But at the same time I felt sorry for her. So completely out of her depth in India, desperately lonely, disappointed in everything.
Oh, and how much do I agree with this! There had to be a character who could not cope, and her portrayal was perfect. All the symptoms of culture shock -- I did feel for her, too, despite wanting to slap her on occasions.

How did you like Judi Dench's character? I found her fab! MacCrone indeed. And I loved the final image ♥

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

I loved Judi's character. Right from that first telephone call to where she asks her son whether he can say anything supportive at all. And then her explanation of a 'blog' and how easy he'll find it to follow hers.

She is so believable in her loyalty to her husband and her growing realisation that what she's called a good marriage for half a lifetime was perhaps not quite that.

And that final shot!

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

And I forgot to say thank you for all those lovely words. Thank you!

It's the downside of being friends with a Slytherin. The 'decent human being' part doesn't come naturally.

[tetleythesecond]

Yeah, well, but for a Slytherin you certainly do have your moments. ;P

[mirellarussian.livejournal.com]

Oh, dammit! I saw this post (didn't read under the cut, though!) and decided to go see the film this afternoon once I'd finished my homework... Then realized it's not released in the US til May 4th! It'll be something to look forward to, then. I'm so glad to hear that it was as good as I hoped!

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

You'll love it! Go and see it if you have the chance.

[spin-84.livejournal.com]

Not to show off to your American flisties I went to see this a second time (ha! Smug much?!) - only for the benefit of you poor things who don't get it for another month of course.

All I can say is scrap my measly words and substitute them with TRS's, if you please. Thanking you.

I am just about to embark on the book now, which is something I normally prefer to do before watching the tv/film version. However, mum got a copy for Mother's Day (who on earth could have got her that I wonder? Have I mentioned I'm an only child? ;-) Ulterior motive much?). Have any of you read it?

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

I'd love to read the book, and I will look out for it. It must have been a very thoughtful person who gave this to your mother (for a given, i.e. Slytherin, definition of 'thoughtful').

[iselima.livejournal.com]

Great post: told a lot, told 'nothing' *gg*

Tomorrow Nina and me are going to watch it and I'm so happy that it's finally happening (wanted to go since February, but 'circumstances' held me up).

You convinced me that I MUST make it possible...thanks for that! :-)

What surprises me, is that the film appears to be quite a success here in London - way more than I had ever expected for a film about pensioners in India. It started in just a few cinemas in London and had mediocre reviews in the press. But now, after six, seven weeks, it is in many theatres and the rating has gone up as well. Perhaps the English audience is quite loyal to their favourite actors?! :-)

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

I hope you've enjoyed the movie. With all that's going on, you could do with a bit of feel-good!

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

Ah, what a delightful review, thank you so much! I still have some hope to be able to see it, and your detailed description makes me so much more wanting it.

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

It's an absolute must-see. I hope you can see it in the cinema, if not, buy the DVD.

[minervas-eule.livejournal.com]

FINALLY! I have been able to watch it as OV (with German subtitles, but I was able to blend those out most of the time). How absolutely delightful. Maggie's last scene. *Yeah!*, and Bill Nighy.... I favoured him maybe a little because I had read an interview with him about the movie in our paper: he was asked what he had feared most while shooting the movie, and he said the last motorbike-ride with Judi: he had special driving lessons, naturally, but he had nightmares about it: "I woke up every morning in a state, fearing to kill Judi Dench. I could not have returned to England - it might be possible to kill the Queen and sneak back into the country, but if you'd have Judi Dench on your conscience, you'd be banished for life."

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

Isn't it absolutely great? And I love Nighy's reaction. He's right, too. It would have been the Marigold forever for him.

But he did absolutely brilliant in that final shot - exuding just the right mix of confidence, pride, and wonder at actually being there, in that place, with her.

I plan to buy the DVD as soon as I have the chance.

[mountainmoira.livejournal.com]

Can't wait to see it - have been eager since they ran promos during "Abbey" on the Public Broadcasting stations here in the States.

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

You'll absolutely love it. I may not possess an Inner Eye, but I'm certain of that.

[kellychambliss.livejournal.com]

Ah, I've finally had a chance to read your comments, now that I've gotten to see the movie at last. And it's fun to compare our reactions. I see we don't quite agree on all the "stuff that's cut out" /g/. You're right that we can easily fill in the back-stories on a lot of things. But I still do think we needed some explanation of where they were going, what they expected to find, etc, both for the sake of clarity and because it would have been fun to see the contrast between their expectations and the reality.

I totally agree about how well they walked the India of poverty/India as travel brochure line. Yes, this movie isn't the place to show the worst of the country, and why does every film need to? Like everywhere, India has its best, its worst, and its in-between -- and the in-between is a space for excellent story-telling.

I'm of two minds about Dev Patel's character. I did feel that Sonny crossed the line into minstrelsy a few times, though there were other times when he came across as three-dimensional and human.

But I agree about Penelope Wilton: she did a fine job of making us understand and even sympathize how difficult things were for Jean. Not everyone is suited for that sort of drastic life change, and she helped us see why. (Though I did think the script took the easy way out by having her be the one to break off the relationship with Douglas. That's often the fantasy of a person who wants out of a relationship but doesn't know how to do it -- that the other person will suddenly say, "we both know this isn't working; let's part; no painful scenes, no hard feelings." But how likely is it?)

Anyway, I'm so glad to have finally seen it. I went with my BFF from high school, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

How lovely of you to remember this post and actually return to comment! Indeed, I must admit that, apart from the dreadful shortcut in resolving Sonny's problems re the arranged marriage, I could rather live with the shortcuts.

Funnily enough, I do seem to recall seeing quite a bit of the reasons for their trip to India. Mostly in Wilson's scene at the hairdresser - she's reading the brochure and mentioning the beautiful palaces and luxury that is promised. It was clear to me that she expected something infintely superior to the bungalow, and her enthusiasm on meeting the judge, "just the kind of person one hoped to meet", underlined it even more.

And Muriel is told quite clearly that she'll go to India - one presumes that her local hospital, that collaborates with the Indian one, will arrange this - and she expects hell.

But I do agree that I would have loved a good close-up of that brochure.

I quite agree on Patel. He does as good a job as possible and has some excellent moments, but the part is written as a bit of a caricature.

Though I did think the script took the easy way out by having her be the one to break off the relationship with Douglas. True. Though I must say I like the reason. The row they've had in which he tells her what a dreadful person she has become must have had quite an impact, and then she has to choose between him and getting out. And I find it believable that she chooses getting out. When she says he's too decent to make the break himself she actually believes that at the time, but a lot of it is bad faith, of course. England and some money and no husband. That's what she wants.

But I'm glad you liked the movie overall. I was just wondering - which parts felt like colonial nostalgia to you? You mentioned that in your post. I didn't see it myself, but I may be blind to it, since the Netherlands have quite a colonial history themselves. So I'd be interested to hear what you think.

[cranky--crocus.livejournal.com]

I book-marked this page ages ago in hopes that I would get to see the film in cinema--and I managed! A lovely little artsy cinema, too, where I enjoyed my surroundings as much as the film (possibly because, at the time, it was decorated with the actors of said film (; ).

I must say, from what I remember, that I agree!

Especially when it came to Maggie Smith playing vulnerable--and with a hip break/replacement story, to boot. That's not a story-line one comes across every day.

I was supposed to watch the film with just my platonic life partner (PLP), but her-real partner wanted to come along to see the cinema as well, and PLP didn't have the heart to say no. So as we were walking in real-partner said something along the lines of, "Now you two better not get all teary over this sort of film." I got miffed--way to ruin the empowering, safe environment I was looking to achieve by going!--and was a bit displeased that he was there, since my PLP is very much a fan of older ladies and he's one of those people who doesn't tend to notice them at all since they're not young men carrying guns and boinking attractive ladies (mind, in my head, old ladies are boinking attractive ladies all the time--old or no).

But the point of that was to say that, come Maggie-as-Muriel's scene with the first real step after the hip replacement...I cried. I felt silly for a moment, but then I just felt grateful that someone had captured how frightening that first step could be and managed to get it into a film--and that of course that person would be Maggie. I remember my first step post-hip-replacement very clearly, and how petrifying it is to put one's trust in a doctor's work and faith into a new body part that is not one's own; Maggie captured it. (I do not remember the steps afterward, for apparently I attempted to take a few steps to the bathroom and instead passed out in my mother's arms. I only found that out from her a month or so ago, despite that the hip replacement was five years ago--ahaha. I was also quite anemic at the time.)

I had to wipe my face a bit at the end of the film and PLP's real-partner looked at me funny. I said, "You just wait for your first hip replacement and then we'll talk," and stormed off with my cane. He looked a touch surprised but didn't comment. Well, yes, I'm an old lady in the making here and I'm not about to let him ignore me!

So, yes, that part touched me deeply on a personal level--one that I was absolutely not expecting when I went into the film. And it's definitely one I want to own, for that and for the humour and the messages.

Also, I got a huge kick out of the line in which (I think it was) Maggie-as-Muriel was saying that she didn't know Judi-as-Evelyn very well, because for that moment I just saw it as one best friend saying that to another and couldn't contain a little giggle.

My PLP and I were both secretly hoping, at the end, that the three would get together--I don't remember their names, but I think it may be obvious which three I am speaking of? I believe it was the woman looking for a new next husband and the new-happy-sexual-couple; the three kept eying each other and gave me shippy vibes. PLP and I decided that it would be our headcanon together.

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for that lovely comment, and for sharing your 'first step' story with me. I had never actually quite thought that through, but of course it must be a major and terrifying thing to do. That scene now has so much more depth for me!

And also *brainless idiots R us* thanks for taking the trouble to store that post of mine to memories and actually report back on it - so very thoughtful.

[cranky--crocus.livejournal.com]

No problem! Thank you for this detailed post on your experience with the film. I'm hopeless with them, myself, so I have to count on others to do it instead. (: I really appreciated yours. (I also hope you never DO have to think through the first-step thing in your life; I've had to do it a few times, so I'll just let one of those count as yours, alright? So no hip scares from you.)