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11th June 2014
04:26pm BST

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.