The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

I saw the trailer of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (TBEMH) over 3 months back down under. I was actually quite certain that some moron somewhere in this country will find some of the things said offensive enough to file a Public Interest Litigation and ensure that the movie never sees the light of day in India. Something like the powers that be did with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Thankfully that didn’t happen unless of course there is something that was done behind the scenes that we are unaware of. I was not complaining either ways.

TBEMH traces the lives of 7 people who have one foot in the grave – each with a secret of their own who find themselves in India at the same time. Evelyn Greenslade (Judi Dench) has just lost her husband who she was severely dependent upon. Graham Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson) leaves London on a whim of sorts – just like that in the middle of a speech from his colleague – he packs his bags and heads off to India. Douglas (Bill Nighy) and Jean (Penelope Wilton) Ainsley are a couple who are dealing with coming to an age where they cannot afford to buy more than very basic accommodation in an old age home.

Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith) has come to a point where her hip bone has given way but she is some sort of a racist and doesn’t like to be touched by anything that’s not white. Norman Cousins (Ronald Pickup) and Madge Hardcastle (Celia Imrie) are 2 people who do not believe that age has anything to do with being sexually active. In the case of Cousins, he just wants to get laid. But Madge’s desires extend to finding a single man of royal blood.

Norman and Madge are actually the funniest characters in this geriatric Romantic Comedy from the table of John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, Captain Correlli’s Mandolin) who is known for spinning stories that touch your heart. Madden has once again stuck to his strength of fleshing out each character beautifully. Each of the 7 people are introduced in just under a minute right at the beginning before the actual credits start. The sequence is really well done.

Madden need not have worried about the acting department in this one (or previous ones) because he has picked up his cast to a perfection. To me the outstanding performance came from Maggie Smith who will definitely stake a claim to Uncle Oscar this year. Add to the performances some vintage British humour and dialogues that will stay with you for a really long time such as, “I am single by choice. Not just my choice” OR “When I want your opinion I will give it to you” or the more serious, “The only real failure is the failure to try. And the measure of success is how we cope with the disappointment that comes with trying”. Beautifully written words from Ol Parker. Adapted from the book Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach, this is one Brit RomCom you must add to your weekend watches. 7 on 10.

Trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi929996313/

My Week with Marilyn

My whole life, I have grown up idolizing and fantasizing about one Norma Jean Mortenson and how I have been unlucky enough to be born into a generation which did not see here alive. And I am quite certain that I am not alone in this world. Just looking at photographs is sufficient for most men to feel the absence of knee caps or for that matter feet of any kind. And it really didn’t matter if you are at the bottom of the food chain or as high as the likes of JFK or in this case Laurence Olivier. The reaction that the first lady of Hollywood got from the male of any species would have been the same. So I guess it was only a matter of time to get the right script for a movie that would show the original diva in her complete glory.

My week with Marilyn is the true life story – yes indeed it is true, much to the heartbreak of most people in 1956 and even now – of one Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne). Colin is best known for his book The Prince, The Showgirl and Me. Quite aptly titled considering that Colin met Marilyn (Michelle Williams) on the sets of 1957 hit The Prince & The Showgirl where he was 3rd Assistant to Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh). The story dates back to 1956 when Marilyn flew down to England for shooting the movie. A couple of weeks into the movie, she developed a serious fondness for Colin perhaps because he is the only person who seems to understand. The fondness turns into a relationship for a week with the nonchalance and the eccentricities that only Marilyn could be associated with.

Written by Adrian Hodges & Colin Clark, My week with Marilyn has been nominated for 2 oscars – Michelle Williams for best actress & Kenneth Branagh for Best Supporting actor. Another nomination I could have thought of would have been screenplay. Some of the dialogues just kill you. Like when Olivier tells Clark, “Remember boy, when it comes to women, you are never too old for humiliation” & when Olivier helplessly admits to him that, “What I see in that magnificient face is a reflection of my own inadequacy”. Worth mentioning is when Dame Sybil Thorndike (Judi Dench) tells Clark, “First love is such sweet despair Colin”. And lastly when Colin admits that, “My only talent was not to close my eyes”.

The enigma called Marilyn cannot remotely be recreated on screen but the effort put by the team and Michelle Williams in particular is stunning. Many of us would have passed out… maybe even passed away if Marilyn Monroe had kissed us. I would have been in the latter group. But Colin Clark not only stayed on his feet but went on to write a book about it. He is officially on date the man I envy the most. 7.5 on 10 for this magnificient effort dedicated to a goddess.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2677710361/