Movies

My wife and I went to see "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" staring an ensemble cast composed of Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Maggie Smith and Tom Wilkinson. And that's just the top of the list. My wife wanted to see this more than I did, based on a pre-screening and positive review from my younger daughter. It's one of those rare Hollywood movies, based on plot and character development, totally devoid of explosions, aliens, and mega-death. Well, OK, Tom Wilkinson's character dies. From a heart attack. And it takes place primarily in Jaipur, India, not some far-away alien planet.

The plot, once you sit through the movie, is a bit predictable (The reactions of strangers (English) in a strange land (India), Indian boy gets Indian girl in spite of Indian boy's mother's disapproval, people find happiness/release/closure/sex). What makes the movie enjoyable in spite of its predictability is seeing a lot of fine acting without the dramatic histrionics coming from a lot of today's movies. Absolutely everybody is normal and trying to cope with the situation they find themselves in. And enough time is devoted to character development so that you really care what happens to them all in the end. It is a movie in the same category as "The Way", something that's quiet and thoughtful and, well, really adult.