Starring: Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, Sarah Gadon, Penelope Wilson, Sam Read, Tom, James Norton.
Distributor: Icon Films
Runtime: 104 mins. Reviewed in May 2014
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A film which many audiences will thoroughly enjoy.
On the one hand, it is in the tradition of the elegant English heritage dramas, especially those films of Jane Austen’s novels. Belle is set in the 1780s, only a quarter of a century or so before the Jane Austen period. On the other hand, Belle has a strong message about racial inequality and racism at the time, centred on Britain’s role in the slave trade. In this way, it is in the tradition of social reform films, especially the story of William Wilberforce and abolition of the trade in Amazing Grace.
There has been no budget stinting on costumes and décor. We see the beauty of the world of the wealthy. We are taken into darker and more realistic areas of London and the ports.
And who is Belle? She is an actual character, a young mulatto girl (the phrase of the time), daughter of a wealthy Naval officer who takes her to live with his uncle, Lord Mansfield, who is the Chief Justice. He and his wife and the governess are taken aback. Yet, they abide by a set of rules which acknowledges the young girl, who is called Dido, her inheritance – but also society rules and customs which prevent her from dining at table with the rest of the family and visitors.
Dido is played by a young English actress, Gugu Mbatha Raw, who is both charming and convincing, as she grows up in this ambiguous situation in the company of her cousin, Bet (Sarah Gadon). In the atmosphere of the times, both girls are looking for husbands, Bet without a dowry, Dido with her personal fortune. They encounter the Ashford family (where the sons are also looking for wives, preferably wealthy). Lady Ashford (Miranda Richardson) is the ambitious, avaricious and bigoted mother. What follows is very much Jane Austen scenarios.
During the film, Bet’s portrait is painted, Dido unwilling to pose – she sees that all paintings with black individuals have the black in a subservient position. However, we see the portrait at the end – and the actual portrait from this period. Dido is not subservient.
At this time, a slave-carrying ship, the Zong, has caused a public furore, the owners pushing slaves overboard, because the ship was not carrying enough water. Should the owners be paid insurance for their loss? The Lord Chief Justice (Tom Wilkinson in a substantial role) delays in his decision, challenged by his wife (Emily Watson) to think back to his legal origins and idealism, concerned about Dido whom he loves like a daughter, and spurred by a zealous lawyer, Davernier (Sam Reid) who loves Dido. If the Justice finds for the insurers against the owners, many see that it will destroy the trade and endanger Britain’s economy.
The film offers a lot to think about in its well-written screenplay, and a lot to look at in its striking visuals.
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