The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Director: John Madden
Starring: Judie Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy
122 mins; Class PG;
KRS Releasing Ltd

2012 saw the release of a little film starring an assemblage of the best of veteran British talent as a group seeking retirement in India.

On paper, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel looked like a twee little story rife with clichés about old age.

Yet, the script by Ol Parker, the solid direction at the hands of John Madden and a superb cast led by perennial favourites Judi Dench and Maggie Smith all contributed to a delightful, funny and moving character-driven story about ordinary folk and their way of dealing with the foibles of old age.

The film went on to become a sleeper hit and has led to The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

An ironic title, certainly, but a deliberate one I am sure, for as it turns out, it’s actually very much on par with its predecessor, with Parker and Madden and the original cast returning to their roles together with some new faces in the mix. And, in maintaining the funny and poignant tone that permeated the first film while deepening the main characters’ stories, the team has created another winner.

As the film opens, hotel manager Sonny (Dev Patel) is seeking financial backing in the US to buy his second hotel. Accompanying him is his curmudgeonly co- manager Muriel (Smith, who provides the first belly laugh of the film with her tirade about the proper way to make tea, much to the bemusement of the high-powered hotel magnates at the meeting).

Back in India, Sonny’s fiancée Sunaina (Tina Desai) is preparing for their wedding, while the now permanent residents go about their daily lives.

Evelyn (Dench) finds a new lease of life as a textile buyer, while deliberately ignoring Douglas’s (Bill Nighy) romantic advances; and while he not-so-secretly pines for her, he acts as a rather forgetful tour guide.

Seductress Madge (Celie Imrie, as droll as ever) travels to and fro between two suitors, while lothario Norman (Ronald Pickup) tries to find stability in his relationships with Carol (Diana Hardcastle).

Madden seems happy to sit back and let his cast do what they do best. Full kudos to screenwriter Parker for successfully juggling so many individual stories and offering enough screen time for each to develop fully and emotionally – the storyline involving Norman and Carol as bickering lovers is the only rather weak link.

The film is equally irreverent and affectionate towards the issue of old age, having no problems at poking gentle fun at it.

The film belongs to the two grand dames of cinema

Sonny’s first task in the morning is a roll call of all the residents, to ensure no-one has kicked the bucket overnight. Yet, touchingly, it celebrates the myriad possibilities that can be had in life’s twilight years.

As Evelyn opines, “I thought, how many new lives can one have? Then I thought... as many as we like, while we can”. And the film illustrates that maxim perfectly.

Where the film improves on the first is that the second takes a closer look at the Indian culture the hotel’s residents now firmly form part of.

With Sonny and Suneina’s marriage, much colour is added with the elaborate preparations, dances, outfits and customs of a tradition Indian wedding an integral part of the story.

Moreover, Madge’s burgeoning friendship with her driver Babul (Rajesh Tailang) opens her eyes to the daily lives of ordinary Indians.

It is redundant to say that the cast is superb. Sonny is a man with a penchant for the theatrical yet he has a big heart and his enthusiasm is wildly infectious. His sunny disposition is as bright as ever, but his impending nuptials and the arrival of a potential business (and romantic) rival gives Patel a chance to add layers to his character.

Nighy invites oodles of sympathy as the lovelorn Douglas, while newcomer to the fold Richard Gere is understated and charismatic as a writer who is smitten by Sonny’s mother, the aloof, but secretly flattered Mrs. Kapoor (Lillete Dubey).

However, with their customary seemingly effortless performances the film belongs to cinema’s grande dames, Dench and Smith.

In Evelyn and Muriel they have characters through which they can channel the concerns, inevitabilities and yes, second chances offered by old age. Dench beautifully portrays Evelyn’s reluctance to commit to a romantic relationship and the conflicting emotions she’s experiencing are genuinely moving.

Smith’s journey as the opinionated, slightly acerbic yet loving Muriel from a slightly racist, snooty woman to a valued member of her adoptive is family is honestly played and she shares some wonderful scenes with Patel as the oddest of odd couples.

Added to that, a little sub-plot about her stoical acceptance that the end is nigh is just a little heart-breaking.

It is inspiring to see these two 80-year-olds still at the very top of their game, pure examples of how wonderful old age can be.