A very charming movie and very well directed by Lasse Hallstrom and adapted by Steven Knight for the silver screen from the novel by Richard C. Morais.
So why did it contain some scenes that were slightly inconsistent to the scenarios or characters. That's the only thing that frustrated me, otherwise the movie and story was beautiful.
But the most beautiful parts were the shots of the food preparation; watching them I heard my stomach grumbled and I was longing for some nice Indian food. That's how good Hallstrom directed them.
Every one of the cast here were top class. Helen Mirren was the obvious star as she had the only name that was more recognisable internationally. But she wasn't the only one shining on the big screen. Om Puri held his own playing opposite of the Hollywood legend as I suspect he himself must be somewhat of a legend too. The back-and-forth banter between him and Mirren were some of the best parts in the movie.
Manish Dayal was another star that was a joy to watch as he slowly turned his innocence and eagerness into weights that attached themselves onto his shoulders. Charlotte Le Bon was another great choice to cast as the sous chef that's competing for the top spot. The chemistry between them, however, was missing slightly.
Other actors with smaller roles gave equally great performances under the direction of Hallstrom. I was very impressed with Amit Shah and Farzana Dua Elahe, both had their screentime to make an impact. The younger kids, however, could have had more presence in the movie.
But that's why it frustrated me to witness the inconsistencies that were sprinkled in from time to time.
From one of the earlier scenes where the brake of the car decided to breakdown. Strangely enough the brakes decided to work again on top of a sloped hill. Worse was, with the brake in a dangerous situation and the car in a precarious position, the occupants decided to get out through the back, risking the car rolling on top of them.
In another scene in the middle where Dayal's character brought a dish to Mirren as an apology, that whole plot point was just a weird one. Had Mirren dumped it immediately, or Dayal brought the ingredients instead as an apology, those would have made more sense.
There were a few more which I should not attempt to spoil, but even though these may seem trivial, they reflected on the characters totally. I do not know if it's written as such in the novel, but I wished they were done more logically.
I also thought the final plot point felt a bit rushed and abrupt. It would have served the satisfaction of the audience more had the characters developed slightly more. But nevertheless, the soundtrack and the cinematography were also very beautiful. Plus the humour were just as endearing as the romantic story itself.
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