REVIEW – Belle, It’s Costume Drama By Numbers But Still An Intriguing Film

The costume drama is one of the film genres that has barely changed over the years and with very good reason. Despite the fact that there is little or no difference in the story structure of the films, their tales of love, the sumptuous sets and restrained nature continue to win audiences over. To this day, films like the reworking of Pride and Prejudice and the Emma Thompson scribed Sense and Sensibility still work incredibly well at the box office, probably because there is something completely comforting in the safe bet, a film where you know the right couple will end up together and there are nice beautiful sights along the way. There's nothing to be ashamed of with that, costume dramas hold their own special charm. However, even though their female characters do always appear as strong women to the viewer, they are constrained by the times they live in; they must seek their parents approval for their marriages, they are always their husband's wives and nothing more, they literally live in a man's world. Although this is acceptable to an audience who know what they are getting themselves in for, it can become tiring to continue to witness women who are confined by their surroundings. Thankfully, Belle is one film that attempts to shake that tradition up a little, this is actually quite a modern storyline for what is a very traditional film. Based on a true story, the film revolves around Dido Elizabeth Belle, the mixed-race daughter of a Navy Admiral who was taken in to her father's family at an early age. Born to a black mother and living in poverty, Dido is rescued by her father who insists that she live a wealthy life and have everything afforded to her. Due to his career commitments, her father is forced to leave her with his family, the Lord Chief Justice (Wilkinson) and his wife. Belle is brought up as one of the family but finds that she is still an outsider when it comes to official events like dinner and ceremonies. When her father dies, Belle becomes a heiress but with little prospect of marriage, her family settle on the notion that she will remain the keeper of their house. Although Belle becomes resigned to the life that she is forced to lead, she soon discovers that her beauty and her wealth makes her quite the catch. She accepts a marriage proposal from a good family but having already met John Davinier, a young ambitious lawyer who wants to change the world for the better, Belle needs to decide whether it is more important to marry for position or for love. While Belle mainly deals with the romance of the lead characters and the advancement of Belle herself, it also deals with the serious issue of the Zong, a massive case from Victorian Britain which, when it was ruled on, began the end of the slave trade in Britain. The film likes to place these two ideas together, that Belle is a mixed race woman in a highly privileged background but must still face the harsh realities of what her race faced in Britain at the time, a point that doesn't sit too well with this forward-thinking woman. Belle has a lot more substance because of this issue ensuring that it's not just another costume drama. The performances are amazing, Gugu Mbath-Raw's turn as Belle proves that she is certainly one to watch while her cousin Elizabeth, played by Sarah Gadon is the perfect English Rose. However, Tom Wilkinson as her guardian and the Lord Chief Justice is the stand-out performance, the perfect combination of justice and emotion, he always attempts to do the right thing even if that right thing is not the popular one. There are occasions when their relationship will literally bring you to tears. Although for the most part this is costume drama by numbers, there is a little more bite here with what seems like a very modern woman who strives to be independent living in a very stiff and rigid society. This makes Belle a pretty enjoyable watch. For all those costume drama fans out there, the locations and wardrobe are just beautiful. It certainly won't change your life but for the most part, it's a good watch.