If actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw becomes a full fledged Hollywood star, and I sincerely hope she does, it can be traced back to this film, her first leading role and one she handles with grace and beauty.
The movie Belle itself is a somewhat mediocre film that white washes a lot of unpleasant history. The purpose of this is actually pretty nobel. As the movie itself points out a lot of historical depictions of black people involve them secondary, suffering or in pain. Belle shows a young black woman as fully romanticized and loved as any Austen heroine. To wit: Belle is about Dido Elizabeth Belle the daughter of an unnamed black slave mother and a captain of noble birth. We first meet Dido as a child when her mother is dead and her father has appeared to rescue her. Despite the fact that the two are estranged he reassures her that he loves her very much as he did her mother and takes her from the hovel where she is living to the luxurious estate belonging to his uncle. Despite some objections from his aunt and uncle, Dido is reluctantly welcomed into the bosom of the family estate as a companion for her cousin Elizabeth, another unfortunate cast off family member (albeit one who is white). The movie rejoins Dido again over a decade later when she is a young woman ready to be courted and full of questions as to how she can live in a world where she is privileged over other young ladies and yet discriminated against on the basis of her skin colour.
The script doesn't always flow when making these points but it is saved by Gugu Mbatha-Raw (utterly charming). Sam Reid makes for a handsome and passionate hero. The film is also incredibly luxurious and gorgeous though the editing can't hide the fact some awkward moments that seem to imply that certain scenes didn't get all the coverage they needed.
Still a must see for fans of historical romances.
The movie Belle itself is a somewhat mediocre film that white washes a lot of unpleasant history. The purpose of this is actually pretty nobel. As the movie itself points out a lot of historical depictions of black people involve them secondary, suffering or in pain. Belle shows a young black woman as fully romanticized and loved as any Austen heroine. To wit: Belle is about Dido Elizabeth Belle the daughter of an unnamed black slave mother and a captain of noble birth. We first meet Dido as a child when her mother is dead and her father has appeared to rescue her. Despite the fact that the two are estranged he reassures her that he loves her very much as he did her mother and takes her from the hovel where she is living to the luxurious estate belonging to his uncle. Despite some objections from his aunt and uncle, Dido is reluctantly welcomed into the bosom of the family estate as a companion for her cousin Elizabeth, another unfortunate cast off family member (albeit one who is white). The movie rejoins Dido again over a decade later when she is a young woman ready to be courted and full of questions as to how she can live in a world where she is privileged over other young ladies and yet discriminated against on the basis of her skin colour.
The script doesn't always flow when making these points but it is saved by Gugu Mbatha-Raw (utterly charming). Sam Reid makes for a handsome and passionate hero. The film is also incredibly luxurious and gorgeous though the editing can't hide the fact some awkward moments that seem to imply that certain scenes didn't get all the coverage they needed.
Still a must see for fans of historical romances.