The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a British comedy-drama with an all-star cast of Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nightly, Celia Imrie and Penelope Wilton. The film was released in Britain on February 24th and is based on the novel These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel tells the story of a group of elderly Brits who all, for their own reasons, decide to relocate to a hotel for the elderly in India. Although advertisements for the Marigold Hotel make the place look appealing and beautiful, the guests are disappointed to find it a shell of its former glory.

Evelyn, a recent widow, decides to sell her flat in order to pay off her husband's debts and move to India despite protests from her family. Douglas and Jean, a couple who have been married for nearly forty years, are struggling to make ends meet after investing savings into their daughter's business, and decide that living in India is cheaper. Muriel is an ex-housewife who, when desperately needing a hip replacement, is outsourced to India instead of being put on a long waiting list. Graham is a judge who finally decides that it is 'his day' to retire, moving to India to finish his unfinished business. Madge, a woman who has had several unsuccessful marriages, runs from her daughter's attempts to keep her at home. And Norman is an aging womanizer struggling to accept his declining attractiveness who, like Madge, comes to India for adventure and new possibilities.

All these people find themselves together at the Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful, where they are forced to adapt to the new culture. They are each changed by their experiences in India and slowly begin to let go of the past. The film contains moments of laughter, thoughtfulness and sadness, and is one that I would highly recommend.

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