From 24 Feb
follows a group of British retirees who decide to “outsource” their retirement to a less expensive and ostensibly exotic India. Enticed by ads for the newly restored Marigold Hotel – once a jewel in the Raj crown – and bolstered by visions of a life of leisure on the cheap, they arrive to find the palace a shell of its former self. That the reality falls short of the brochure – “a luxurious sanctuary for the elderly and beautiful” – is a metaphor for most of their lives. Though the environment is less luxurious than imagined, they are transformed as they each learn to open themselves to the new experiences, new friendships and new culture before them.
In this bittersweet life-affirming film, director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) has assembled the pick of the crop of “elderly and beautiful” British thesps: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie and Ronald Pickup. (Note the overlap with “Downton Abbey” in the casting…) India provides a vivid setting, and the gentle humour and wisdom of the piece will warm the cockles, particularly in this cold clime. Enjoy!
Loading ...