Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Downton Abbey vs. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: A Tale of Two Actresses

Like millions of others, I’m hooked on Downton Abbey, the deliciously sudsy TV series about an aristocratic family and its servants in early 20th-century England. That Downton’s third season doesn’t begin on PBS until January of 2013 is a deprivation, even a source of desperation.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24275/

We love Downton, need Downton, and don’t want to be without it. So we are compelled to seek consolation elsewhere.

Enter The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, now playing in San Diego and other U.S. cities. Heavily promoted by PBS, the film focuses on a modern-day group of British retirees at a shabby Indian hotel. And the cast includes Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton, two superb actresses from Downton.

How do Smith and Wilton fare at the Marigold Hotel? Are their onscreen characters similar to the ones in Downton or are they exploring different dramatic territory?

Here’s a comparison.

Maggie Smith

Downton: Smith portrays Violet Crawley, the Countess of Grantham and mother of the Earl. As the family’s reigning matriarch, she an amusingly feisty symbol of old values in a rapidly changing society.

Marigold: She’s Muriel Donnelly, a former servant who arrives in India with a bad hip, racist attitudes, and a working-class accent.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24276/

Downton: In terms of fashion, the countess is unabashedly old school. Her elaborate outfits resemble something from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. And yes, she has a hat for every occasion.

Marigold: Forget the hats. Smith’s character likes casual, cotton-y clothes suitable for India’s hot climate. After Downton, it’s a shock to see the actress in slacks. She also spends much of the film in a wheelchair.

Downton: If there were such a thing as a wit-ometer, measuring witty writing, the family matriarch would score high. She has some of the sharpest lines in the series. Smith delivers them masterfully, as when she states: “I have plenty of friends I don’t like.” Or when she sees a new telephone and asks: “Is this an instrument of communication or torture?”

Marigold: If not as clever as Downton, the script is sometimes snappy. Smith’s character explains that she’s too old to plan ahead, adding “I don’t even buy green bananas.” She sums up her opinion of Indian food by stating “If I can’t pronounce it, I don’t want to eat it” (which sounds like something the countess would say).

Penelope Wilton

Downtown: She portrays Isobel Crawley, the take-charge mother of the presumptive heir to the estate. Progressive and outspoken, she supports the downtrodden.

Marigold: She’s Jean Ainslee, the take-charge wife of a former civil servant (Bill Nighy). Unlike Downton’s Crawley, Ainslee is a snob. Don’t be fooled by her bright, brittle smile. This is a complicated and conflicted woman.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24277/

Downton: Crawley has a fashion sense that’s stately without being fussy.

Marigold: Ainslee strives to look upscale and serene. She doesn’t always succeed, largely because of the humidity and her own unhappiness.

Downton: She’s willful but often well-meaning, as when she urges her son to pursue the woman he adores.

Marigold: She’s willful and sometimes mean. During an argument with her patient and long-suffering husband, she snarls: “When I want your opinion, I’ll GIVE it to you!”

Speaking of opinions, Reader movie critic David Elliott has reviewed The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Want to check out his review? Go ahead and click here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHc_ZTEH0VU

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Second largest yellowfin tuna caught by rod and reel

Excel does it again
Next Article

Pie pleasure at Queenstown Public House

A taste of New Zealand brings back happy memories

Like millions of others, I’m hooked on Downton Abbey, the deliciously sudsy TV series about an aristocratic family and its servants in early 20th-century England. That Downton’s third season doesn’t begin on PBS until January of 2013 is a deprivation, even a source of desperation.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24275/

We love Downton, need Downton, and don’t want to be without it. So we are compelled to seek consolation elsewhere.

Enter The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, now playing in San Diego and other U.S. cities. Heavily promoted by PBS, the film focuses on a modern-day group of British retirees at a shabby Indian hotel. And the cast includes Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton, two superb actresses from Downton.

How do Smith and Wilton fare at the Marigold Hotel? Are their onscreen characters similar to the ones in Downton or are they exploring different dramatic territory?

Here’s a comparison.

Maggie Smith

Downton: Smith portrays Violet Crawley, the Countess of Grantham and mother of the Earl. As the family’s reigning matriarch, she an amusingly feisty symbol of old values in a rapidly changing society.

Marigold: She’s Muriel Donnelly, a former servant who arrives in India with a bad hip, racist attitudes, and a working-class accent.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24276/

Downton: In terms of fashion, the countess is unabashedly old school. Her elaborate outfits resemble something from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. And yes, she has a hat for every occasion.

Marigold: Forget the hats. Smith’s character likes casual, cotton-y clothes suitable for India’s hot climate. After Downton, it’s a shock to see the actress in slacks. She also spends much of the film in a wheelchair.

Downton: If there were such a thing as a wit-ometer, measuring witty writing, the family matriarch would score high. She has some of the sharpest lines in the series. Smith delivers them masterfully, as when she states: “I have plenty of friends I don’t like.” Or when she sees a new telephone and asks: “Is this an instrument of communication or torture?”

Marigold: If not as clever as Downton, the script is sometimes snappy. Smith’s character explains that she’s too old to plan ahead, adding “I don’t even buy green bananas.” She sums up her opinion of Indian food by stating “If I can’t pronounce it, I don’t want to eat it” (which sounds like something the countess would say).

Penelope Wilton

Downtown: She portrays Isobel Crawley, the take-charge mother of the presumptive heir to the estate. Progressive and outspoken, she supports the downtrodden.

Marigold: She’s Jean Ainslee, the take-charge wife of a former civil servant (Bill Nighy). Unlike Downton’s Crawley, Ainslee is a snob. Don’t be fooled by her bright, brittle smile. This is a complicated and conflicted woman.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/12/24277/

Downton: Crawley has a fashion sense that’s stately without being fussy.

Marigold: Ainslee strives to look upscale and serene. She doesn’t always succeed, largely because of the humidity and her own unhappiness.

Downton: She’s willful but often well-meaning, as when she urges her son to pursue the woman he adores.

Marigold: She’s willful and sometimes mean. During an argument with her patient and long-suffering husband, she snarls: “When I want your opinion, I’ll GIVE it to you!”

Speaking of opinions, Reader movie critic David Elliott has reviewed The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Want to check out his review? Go ahead and click here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHc_ZTEH0VU

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Chiba II: Japanese Cuisine in Tierrasanta

Next Article

It's just death

Screenwriter Ol Parker discusses The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader