Belle: Review + Response

I recently went to see the film Belle and I must say that I was immediately captured by the brilliance and glamour of this film. This film was the perfect blend of personal woes and politics as it followed Dido Lindsay and her life as a mixed race woman

It explored themes like racism and wealth/woman's worth. One little running theme I loved was the portrayal of race in paintings and how afraid Dido is to sit for a portrait because she is afraid of how she will be portrayed. I think that we definitely need more films that explore race and female agency. This was a real delight and one of the best films I've seen in some time. It was a pleasing, substantial costume drama that Pride and Prejudice fans should flock to see. It is always good to see a film about a woman made by a woman. Tom Felton reprised a Draco Malfoy-esque role as a ridiculous racist. Gugu Mbatha Raw gives a charming performance with real moments of human clarity that illustrate what it must have felt like to have lived in such a politically tumultuous time as she struggles with her identity and societal place. Asante as a director harnesses plenty of skill, grace and charm to make a crowd-pleasing film with plenty of personality. As much as this was a story about Dido, it was also a stpry about her cousin Elizabeth and it drew some wonderfully stark contrasts between the two women. This is a perfectly paced film, beautifully presented from start to finished, poignant to the end of the credits.