"I want to outsource Old Age"
Films with ensemble casts are tricky things. No doubt filling a story with big stars is going to get people to watch it; but as a result, some of the characters can become marginalised and you end up wondering what the point of casting them was. I like Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s 11, it’s slick, stylish, has an intriguing plot, and it has a hell of a cast. There is no doubt however, that it’s George Clooney and Brad Pitt’s film. Crash is another example. Another great cast, but was Sandra Bullock really necessary? Just checking IMDB, I’d forgotten that Brendan Fraser and William Fitchner were in it! Of course one way of fitting in all the characters is to go down the route of Magnolia: make a really long film so that everyone gets enough screen time!
However, in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, it all seems to work. All of the characters get time enough for their story to unfold, it’s not an overlong film, and there definitely isn’t one or two main characters. It also happens to be very funny. All of the cast here (pretty much the cream of later-generation British talent) are quietly brilliant; no-one particularly steals the lime-light, they all just work perfectly together; understated but great acting. You can tell where most of the characters' stories are going: Maggie Smith’s fairly racist Muriel will obviously embrace the Indian culture by the end of the film (these are hardly spoilers), Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton’s marriage is clearly rocky, throw in a romantic story for Dev Patel as well as his struggle against an overbearing Mum and none of the film is terribly original. This doesn't matter at all, because it's the way we get there that's so enjoyable.
Director John Madden may not have the most illustrious back-catalogue (though Shakespeare in Love did win a Best Picture Academy Award), but he handles the various story arcs very well, weaving them in such a way that they don’t feel forced or focussed on one character too much. At one point I did feel that two of the characters had been marginalised; but no sooner had I had that thought, then we got back to them and their story was fleshed out more.
The film doesn’t do anything outstanding, but it is deftly handled, the cast are all great, and it is sometimes wickedly funny.
Now this is a film I really want to see. I didn't know anything about it until I saw Patel and Dench on Graham Norton the other week but I think it's something that I'll really enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy this kind of strong, later-generation British ensemble films, Calendar Girls being one of my favourites.
PS I would post an insightful and interesting comment on your latest Sunday Scene but I haven't seen Reloaded or Revolutions... I loved the first film so have been avoiding the sequels because they got such bad press!
I've never seen Calendar Girls, but if it's as good as Marigold Hotel then it may be worth a LoveFilm.
DeleteI'm quite surprised that having loved the first Matrix that you haven't seen the others. They are not bad films, but nowhere near as good as the first; and not seeing Reloaded or Revolutions in no way detracts from it either. So I'd go on not seeing the other two if I were you.
A film I want to see because the I liked the trailer and the cast is denitely impressive. I think it'll make for a good fish out of water tale. Thanks for the review Russ.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Dan. It's kind of an easy-listening kind of film, but very well done and very funny. I hope you enjoy it when you track it down.
DeleteI'm looking forward to this one, largely because of Judi Dench & Maggie Smith.
ReplyDeleteJudy Dench and Maggie Smith are both great, but like I say no-one specifically stands out, it is a great ensemble film. Definitely worth seeing though.
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