Review: Belle

98. Belle
I went into this film with some trepidation. Knowing that it dealt with matters of race in late 1700s England, I feared two hours of moral grandstanding about the evils of racism and slavery that would come across more as a sermon than a film. Fortunately, the film took a surprisingly nuanced approach to its subject matter and fully committed itself to telling a compelling story, only dipping its toe very slightly into moralistic grandiosity near the end.

The film follows a half-black girl, Dido (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who is sent to live with her aristocratic Uncle and Aunt. Her unique station in life is explored as she grows up alongside her cousin, and both seek to find their place in the world, with much of the attention being given to finding matches in marriage. While the film, unavoidably, deals greatly with the way Dido is treated because of her mixed race heritage, it wisely does not limit itself to this, electing instead to take a wider look at social discrimination in general. We see several cases of discrimination based on money--the first born males tend to inherit most or all of the family wealth, leaving their siblings with far worse prospects when it comes to arranging a marriage. We see discrimination based on social class, as Dido's Uncle rejects a potential suitor for her because the man is the son of a vicar and thus beneath her station. At one point, her status as an illegitimate daughter is brought up as cause for social embarrassment as well, the implication being that it is as if not more of a social inconvenience than her race.

Instead of wallowing in the unfairness of the situation and filling the film with long monologues about how terrible all of these discriminations are, we instead get to see the characters try to overcome them. This is far more entertaining, moving, and memorable than the alternative. The film's foremost intent is to tell a story, not to put forward some sociopolitical agenda. It only veered from this ever so slightly near the end, and in that case it is more the musical cues I take issue with than the portrayal of the on-screen events themselves. In a triumphant moment for the characters, I felt that the music swelled just a little too much. The moment worked without it, but in reaching to manipulate an extra bit of emotion through the music, the filmmakers tipped their hand just a bit. As a general rule for background music, it's doing its job if it doesn't call attention to itself. Here, it did call attention to itself, and thus away from the scene.

That single moment aside, "Belle" is a fantastic costume drama. It features a thorough exploration of its subject, and managed to frame this exploration within the confines of a compelling story.