My Views on the Marigold Hotel
Apr. 1st, 2012 06:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
therealsnapeThis 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.
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.