Desertman84 The year was 1769 as it states at the beginning.The British Empire was the country involved in slavery trade.Belle is a film that tells a story inspired from a painting that was done during that time period when a woman of British-African mixed ancestry Dido Elizabeth Belle standing beside her British cousin,Lady Elizabeth Murray.Apparently,it was commissioned by William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, then Lord Chief Justice of England,who happens to be Belle's great uncle. This British period drama film directed by Amma Asante stars Gugu Mbatha- Raw as Belle and Sarah Gadon as Lady Elizabeth together with Tom Wilkinson,Miranda Richardson,Penelope Wilton,Sam Reid,Matthew Goode and Emily Watson.The story of Belle starts from the time she was a child and taken by her father David Murray from the West Indies after the death of her mother whom little was known except being an African slave.Then she was taken to her great uncle,1st Earl of Mansfield, then Lord Chief Justice of England and grew up together with her supposed cousin,Lady Elizabeth Murray.Then the film centers towards Dido,who Belle is familiarly called,to her relationship with an aspiring lawyer and at a time when her great uncle is ruling on the case known as the Zong massacre,wherein slaves were thrown out of the ship by the captain's orders.The decision of the Chief Justice will ultimately lead to the abolition of slavery.Also included in the story is the search of Belle and her cousin for rich and eligible bachelor into becoming would-be husbands as well as Belle's search for the truth about society existing prejudices against those with people of African ancestry and existing trade for slaves as well as her fight for belonging in both her family and society.The viewers would definitely be treated with wonderful performances from cast especially Gugu Mbatha-Raw for her portrayal of Belle.We definitely see in her the pain and the suffering she has to endure due to being of mixed ancestry.We also get to see her hunger for truth about the existing slavery trade that the British Empire has implemented as well as her and her future husband John Davinier,a vicar's son,desire to change it.Also,Gugu and Sarah Gadon provide wonderful presence and charm whenever they are present on screen.What made it short from becoming a great film is the fact that it tried to be less offensive especially with its depiction of racism against African people and those with mixed ancestry.Was it because Amma Asante happens to be of African descent?I felt that more rudeness and hatred especially with the treatment of the would have made it more effective for the viewers to realize the pain and suffering these slaves and people of mixed race would have to go through.Added to that,I felt that the search for husbands of Lady Elizabeth and Belle became somewhat a major theme when less of it would have become better especially since what the viewer has to get from it is basically the how society viewed women of less importance and not equals compared to men as well as how people of mixed race are viewed by the rich and aristocratic.But in spite of these,I still feel it was a good film to watch as it did very well on presenting Belle's hunger for truth,acceptance,justice and change in society.

TheMegaCritic2000 . I had not heard of this movie until it I stumbled across it in the TV schedules! What a good job I did because it is a superb movie on many levels.First, the two leads, Sam Reid and Gugu Mbanga-Raw, are excellent. Reid plays the of Davinier with with passion and conviction, a man ahead of his times in his views on the value of all life, at a time when slaves were treated as possessions. Mbanga-Raw is a gorgeous woman and it must have been hard to play the role of Dido with the requisite uncertainty that life as a mulatto in society would have carried with it. But she is inspired to stand up for her beliefs by the steadfastness of Davinier in his beliefs.The supporting cast do a great job, from Tom Wilkinson to Emily Watson to Miranda Richardson and Penelope Wilton, and everybody else. The film is directed with a sure hand and the cinematography captures the atmosphere of the day superbly.If you have not seen this movie, try and find the DVD. You won;t be disappointed!

babsd-06578 The true story of a beautiful biracial girl being raised by her aristocratic uncle, alongside her white cousin in 18th century England. Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay, the daughter of a Royal Navy Captain and a rescued slave, is afforded all the privileges of her wealthy lineage, except those which her skin color and illegitimacy deny her. Though her aunt and uncle adore her, they resign to the fact that she will never be able to marry a gentleman, and they couldn't bear to allow her to marry a commoner so they brace her to the fact that she must learn to live alone and appreciate the luxuries so few of her race will ever have. Interestingly, though, Dido catches the interest of two men: one a gentleman with his eye on her inheritance, and the other a middle class man, fighting to abolish slavery, who sees Dido for the beautiful human being that she is. While marriage is of interest to Dido, a far more important issue holds her attention – her unique position to possibly unhinge England's powerful slave industry.This romantic drama is a blend of "Pride and Prejudice" meets "Amazing Grace." Being an historical representation, the plot and conclusion are necessarily predictable, however the scripting and acting more than make up for it. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, whose previous work was mainly on the small screen, shone with raw emotion as Dido in moments of both tenderness and righteous indignation. Ubiquitous character actor Tom Wilkinson showed a fine balance as Dido's uncle, Lord Mansfield, who held the unenviable position of guarding Dido's heart while deciding the fate of the slave trade, knowing what it meant for his country's economy. Maybe the weakest link, if there was one, was the mediocre acting of Tom Felton whose typecast slime-ball character was right on target for the role of James Ashford.Although overlooked by the biggest Hollywood awards, "Belle" has received numerous awards for its depiction of the life and impact of this remarkable woman and the family that supported her. Gugu Mbatha-Raw has rightfully been recognized for this breakthrough role that will hopefully be the launch of a lustrous big screen career. I would give this movie 9 out of 10 stars for superb lead acting, writing and directing.

HelenMary Belle by name and belle by nature... this film was beautiful, costume, sets/locations, script and general production were brilliant. The film, inspired by a true story and a stunning and ground breaking portrait, tell the story just before the abolition of slavery in England and the judge's ruling that started the legal process. Unusually for the late 1700s to show such varied opinions of racial difference it was exciting to see people having changes of heart and waking up to the (obvious to us) realisation that no matter what the skin colour we are all equal.Special mention in this film must go to costume design - the clothes were beautiful and whilst some overly pedantic reviewers may point out miniscule inaccuracies in various aspects of the film (ie the piano "goof") who cares!? I don't know how accurate they were but I thought they seemed in keeping with the age of the film and were fitting to the story. Belle's dresses were stunning, but then Mbatha-Raw could probably wear a bin-bag and make it look beautiful.The acting and direction, and editing, weren't always on point, hence only 7/10 rating. Mbatha-Raw, Watson and Wilton were perfect but I felt that the usually amazing Wilkinson was a little off and almost falling in and out of character in places, a little weak in performance. Sam Reid - Davinier - was well cast (prev saw him in The Railway man) but again a little watery and without some conviction, as were Tom Felton and James Norton as the Ashford brothers - unfortunately they were not up to their acting company despite playing brutish and stupid well respectively. Felton seemed to be overacting - a little pantomime - and I'm not sure that I was particularly inspired by Gadon's performance as Elizabeth Murray as I felt it was too one dimensional. It was perhaps unfortunate that the trailer for the film showed her in greater prominence and with a far more varied role.The story itself is inspirational and ground-breaking in it's time and I loved it, so happy to see more documentation of the open minded white people and brave (and in Belle's case, very intelligent) people of colour who stood up and were counted and ended the atrocity of slavery.