Review of Belle (2013) by Sol C — 12 May 2014
Gugu Mbatha-Raw shine here. I loved her in Larry Crowne and on the first season of the Fox TV show, Touch. She does an amazing job here in Belle. The film itself is very good. It has a Merchant Ivory feel to it. Beautifully shot and edited. It kind of reminded me of, in a weird way, Pride and Prejudice, and An Ideal Husband.
Amma Asante did a great directing job here. Tom Wilkinson also shines in the film. Sam Reid is very good and has a great on screen chemistry with Gugu. Matthew Goode is also good in his brief role as Belle's father. Also solid supporting work from Sarah Gadon, Tom Felton, Emily Watson, and Miranda Richardson.
The only negative with the movie, is when the studio released it. The studio should have released the film in the fall, instead of the summer. By releasing it in the summer, the film has a small chance of being noticed for any Oscar consideration. Had the film been released in the fall, the film's Oscar chances would have been greater.
I definitely recommend this film, especially for Gugu's performance.
This review of Belle (2013) was written by Sol C on 12 May 2014.
Belle has generally received positive reviews.
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