Can we talk about that Second Best Exotic ending?
Tuesday, July 21, 2015 at 1:00PM 
I only just got to watching it the weekend before last at the swanky Crosby Hotel which hosts its very own Film Club every Sunday. (I even spied Spider Man v.1.0 Mr Tobey Maguire in the lobby!). Just as with its first, I have to hand it to John Madden, Judi Dench, Lillete Dubey & co. for making a thoroughly predictable film aping Bollywood tropes and focused on India’s exoticized ability to help old white people learn about aging, not only enjoyable but surprisingly melancholy.
Nowhere is that clearer than in the film’s handling of Muriel Donnelly, Dame Maggie Smith’s character, and especially her ending (obviously, SPOILERS ahead). At this point in her career, Smith has arguably become a parody of her own self. And yet, that's harder to say if you actually watch her work. Sure, she’s got the grouchy old bitter hag thing spouting prickly witticisms down pat, but there’s always something else lurking in the quiet moments in her performances. There’s a weariness married to a nimble sense of emoting that goes on behind those weathered if sprightly eyes. That's put to best effect in the final moments of Madden's film which gives us the happy ending we always knew we'd get but spiked with an ambivalent sense of loss:
It makes sense that the heavy lifting (read: the dramatic and non-comedy-of-errors part of the film) would fall on Smith's sturdy shoulders; she can turn even the slightest of complaints about tea into resonant character bits, commentary on US/British relations and even a meditation on her own sense of mortality.
As soon as we left the 90-seat theater at the Crosby (I did say it was swanky, yes? what with its free popcorn and all) my friend asked “So, does she die?” which seemed to be both the type of obvious question I usually hate (“did the top stop spinning?!”) but which seemed precisely the right one to ask, especially if one follows it with “will she kill herself?” a melodramatic, though not for this film, inappropriate question.
We feel the weight of Mrs Donnelly’s life and it somehow strikes me that the film’s ambivalence about her demise, even amidst an ending that ties everything else in a pretty bow is rather transgressive and pretty much all wrapped up in Smith's final close-up which ends the film.
Reader Comments (26)
I really liked the first one, liked the second one...but don't really want a third. There IS such a thing as going to the well too often.
P.S.: I took it that she does die.
I thought the title SECOND BEST Exotic Marigold Hotel was quite apt. I liked it just fine, but there was too much focus on Dev Patel's character, who is an idiot of phenomenal proportions. Totally agree that Maggie Smith was best in show, and I adored her opening monologue on how to properly make tea (I have British relatives and have heard similar speeches on a few occasions). I definitely took it that she died.
There REALLY doesn't need to be a third. They're pleasant films and the (elder, British) cast is very appealing in their roles, but they've covered all the story I feel I need to see.
Yeah, the best part of the movie in my opinion were those final moments, and no, we don't need a third one. What more is there to say? If we want to get Miriam Marolyes and Vanessa Redgrave together with Maggie Smith and Judi Dench, do it in a different movie like The Real Housewives of the Royal Shakespeare Company or by creating a Justice League movie we actually want to see.
Well considering they said yesterday that there are no plans for a third, and the cast is getting older, no I don't think there will (or should) be a third. I couldn't make it through the sequel.
nope, you'll never be served tea with the bag on the side here
I know I am Maggie's most vocal and loyal fan but I really did think she was the best in show in this movie. She did the stock standard work we've come to expect, but there was a sense of poignancy this time around and that ending was so beautifully done - it was almost to me, Maggie's way of saying goodbye in the abrupt way only she knows how to do but still make you feel all the feelings.
I disagree she's become a parody of herself, she's quite clear about it in interviews that she finds the spiky, bitter characters the most interesting to play and it is what she loves the most. While she hits many similar notes, there is a difference in each of her characters that only she could find and bring out. Her latest season on Downton was actually the best for her character and I'm really excited for the Lady in the Van! One more nomination to equal Judi would be perfect I think...
Dev Patel's performance in the first movie was one of the most annoying things I've ever seen on film. Not gonna put myself through that again.
I stopped watching after 15 minutes. Dev Patel annoyed the hell out of me. The worst noise distraction ever!
I freaking LOVE Maggie Smith. Hate the hate she gets around here for "self parodying". I thought she was fantastic in the first film, and, although she is playing the same character year after year, it doesn't mean she is any less fantastic on Downton Abbey. An iconic character, to be sure. And, I mean, let's not even get started on The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
Thank you Joe! Co-sign.
Maggie was just sublime. The best reason to watch the second movie. Actually, she is my favorite supporting performance so far this year. I would nominate her for an Oscar for this movie but I doubt it they will remember this performance come Oscar time.
Did y'all read the piece? Manuel actually says that while it's arguable she's become a parody of herself, that's not so much the case if you actually see her work.
Americanize it with Joanne Woodward and Shirley MacLaine...not.
I watched the first "exotic marigold hotel" and "The second best exotic marigold hotel" and watched both of them many ones, I
Just want to
Know of mrs. Donnelly dies??
I took the ending as she was going to start a new direction in her life, with the gentleman who showed up late the night of the wedding.
I was conflicted at the end as well. My first thought IS that she died. However, after deep thought, dieing does not ideally conclude or compliment the scene with the American nor her final narrative. "There's no presence like the time" she stated. She thinks her story is over..... As does the audience , which is why you all believe she dies however, .... When you listen a bit further.....[When you learn to let go of the control] , as she explains, [is when the fun begins]. She too thinks her story is over, thinking she's control over it and She will just die. But even She is wrong, she lets go control and finally finds love of her own with the American!!!!
So for all those Donnelly (Maggie Smith) fans ...... She lives!!!!!! She does NOT die. 😊
I agree with what Liz wrote.
She was "leaving" before the man showed up, however, I think she was preparing to die at that time. Then, the American appeared and she reflected on her life--how her first life was spent cleaning & her second life managing the hotel--I think it was then that she realized that her story didn't have to end yet.
......there is no PRESENT like the time.... Is how I heard it every time ....which makes more sense than, 'presence' .....at least when thinking of the whole movie. The greatest present we get is life and it is over so quickly.....so for me that says it all. I had this saying painted on my wall around our photographs. My husband and I. For I would give anything for just a wee bit more time with him. Carrie Adams
No pretense, immediate search of web sites researching the conclusion of the film. The director nave boy , left the ending without a conclusion , as I at first thought, then pondered, then replayed the ending. Maggies Smith character has an ending. For her character "there is no Present like the Time" her Present , her Now is at Peace.
She will die, but then we all do. The character played by Judi Dench was not fooled. Told her she would be missed.
Being missed when we walk on , that is a good thing.
Thank you very much , a most enjoyable movie. Philosophy and Romance and Hope that is also a good thing.
Sincerely Ysabel Trevino
A bit if a Night Shayamalar ending as per whether Muriel dies . Leaves you wondering.... Thoroughly enjoyed both the Best and Second Best Most Exotic Marigold Hotel though!
We do not need a Best Exotic no. 3. The first 2 were just fine. The actors and actresses were just perfect too. I do not understand the criticism of Dev Patel as I thought he was the most important character in the films as was wonderful in every way.
I adore Judi Dench and Maggie Smith and have loved everything I have seen them in. It was excellent.
As to the ending, then the final statement tells it all ' There is no present like the time' telling us that sadly there is not enough time left, but that Dev has been taught to carry on without her help.
So I was trying to work out where Sonny ended up getting the financial backing for the Second Marigold Hotel?
Thanks,
John
I was thinking over the same thing, John.
I think that when Guy was leaving the hotel, he said that he would only recommend that his employer (the man Muriel and Sonny ask for financial backing in the beginning and the same man that showed up at the original hotel during the wedding) invest if Sonny had a place like the hotel Kushal bought as a possible building to expand to. Sonny then asks Guy if he would like to go see the Viceroy Club. I take this as Guy going to see the club to assess it as a possible place to expand the Marigold franchise. Guy must have then recommended that his employer invest in the second property just before quitting his job... Thus giving Sonny the financial backing for the Second Marigold Hotel. Plus, when the man shows up at the original hotel during the wedding reception, he tells Muriel he was there to look into his investment. The quickness of the turnover, renovation, decorating, etc is a little unbelievable, but that's besides the point and I figure we are simply supposed to suspend our disbelief.
I would dearly love to see something like 'Real Housewives of the Royal Shakespeare Company'. Half-a-dozen older actresses fighting it out for the big role in production, affecting friends, family and relationships, Like 'Love, Actually',
For something with the real actresses chatting together about their careers, try 'Tea with the Dames' which has several of these actresses, and a few other big-name older British actresses talking about their careers. A slice of history.
So first of all this is a fantastic movie. As far as the ending, the character playing Mrs. Kapoor gave an interview once about how this movie is about hope. Mrs. Donnelly was an old Maid who never married nor had kids, nor had a prestigious job. You may think her life’s dreams are hopeless, however in her golden years she becomes a hotel owner, a mother and maybe, just maybe a wife. Sonny becomes her son and this title is even in his name. That American man was obviously interested in her, was this to be her future husband in her last days on earth when all hope for romance was lost?. Remember Judy Denchs character told that colleague man of hers that she wishes her love interest would just give her more time and then she would get to the place where she would start dating him or marrying him. He then says to her, But how much time do you have? He meant you should do it now as you may not have more time. Then Ms. Donnelly says there’s no present like the time which I think could very well mean a connection to Judy Dench’s character to live to the fullest now as she only has so much time and it may mean finally getting that romance in her life. This movie is about hope and a good lesson to all of us that we never know what God has in store for us.
Bit late to the party, but I definitely think the ending already tells the story of her dying. She steps from darkness into light, then up the stairs. The lady who worked for her "sees her off" and she thanks her one last time. Then she sits up there, almost like she's looking down on the hotel she left behind, leaving her story - as she said so herself. The investor who came to visit the night before could also almost resemble God. Why else would he be there for this one night? And only to see her? He's also the last interaction she has. I think it was a beautiful way of portraying her Goodbye.