Review: Belle

Released: 13^th June

Certificate: 12A

Director: Amma Asante

Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sam Reid, Sarah Gadon, Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson

 

 

British television and cinema has a fine tradition of period drama, as numerous star-studded adaptations of Jane Austen novels will attest. However, it is rare to see a piece which so confidently captures the trappings of period romance while simultaneously addressing the issues of slavery and race that permeate the 18^th century but are so rarely mentioned in the rose-tinted costume dramas. A black servant may be glimpsed in the wings of Pemberly, but the horrific trade that kept the Bennetts, Bingleys and Darcys of the world in cotton and sugar is never referenced.

Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) was the daughter of a naval officer Captain Sir John Lindsey (Tom Goode) and an African slave who was brought to England as a child in 1769 when her mother died and placed in the care of her Aunt and Uncle, Lord and Lady Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson), as a companion to their other, white, niece Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon).

The genius of Belle is that at manages to address the intersections of society, gender and race through the actions and words of the characters without an excess of exposition. In fact, it is precisely the lack of exposition that informs so much of Belle’s character. Even her uncle, one of the most learned men in England, can’t (or perhaps won’t) explain to the adult Belle why she is too highborn to eat with the servants but too lowborn to eat with her family in company. Or why she is not expected to come out in society and meet with suitors like Elizabeth. But the images of subservient people of colour (never looking out of the frame, but always up, adoringly, at the white incumbents) in the towering portraits glimpsed on her first day at her uncle’s house, speak volumes to the young Belle. This feeling of alienation in a theoretically privileged life is elegantly embodied by Mbatha-Raw, who plays Belle with equal parts vulnerability and steely resolve. She is a magnetic screen presence, and Amma Asante’s deft direction helps bring the character fully to light.

Misan Sagay’s excellent screenplay fully explores the squeamishness of the aristocracy around Belle’s presence, while at the same time exploring the motivations of those that genuinely care for her. In a running time of less than two hours, we are treated to a riveting tale of historical politics, a classical love story and a full and frank exploration of the foibles of eighteenth century high society.

Verdict: 4.5/5