Review of Belle (2013) by Meredith R — 23 May 2014

In a sumer full of loud comedies, loud superheroes and loud monsters, this is a beautiful, quiet tasteful lovely film. The true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay, a biracial woman born in England in the 1700s before slavery was outlawed there.

She was raised in an aristocratic family upon the insistence of her father (his family). She is an heiress, but her color prevents her from being fully accepted in society. Her cousin is white, but poor and therefore fights to be fully accepted in society b/c her only option in life is to marry well.

Then, the most important part of the story, is that Belle's great uncle and guardian is the Lord Chief Justice and this is at the time of the Zong case. The Zong case involved a slave ship that tossed the slaves overboard to drown when they became too sick to sell for a profit, yet claimed that they had to b/c they were running out of privations, so they were trying to get their insurance company to pay for the loss.

The case was a landmark in England that eventually led to the abolition of slavery in that country. This movie is a mixture of romance and legal drama. The legal drama is more riveting than the romances, but I did find myself rooting for Belle's love, John Davinier, a poor vicar's son who desires to become a barrister.

The costumes are gorgeous and the film is backed by a superb score. I really enjoyed it and it was such a nice departure from the other films that are out there right now. Very well done.