Belle

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Amma Asante, Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson and Miranda Richardson

Amma Assante's Belle re-creates the 18th century British political and social climate but also addresses the issue of slavery and those who sought its destruction.
The film tells the story of real-life Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw); a woman whose father was white and mother an enslaved African. An Admiral in the British Navy, Dido's father's duty called him to the West Indies, which meant placing his illegitimate daughter in the care of his uncle; Lord Chief Justice William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) and his aunt; Lady Mansfield (Emily Watson) on a rural estate known as Kenwood.

The Earl and his wife are naturally reluctant to raise Dido; though they are bound to duty as relatives. The Earl decides to raise her along with his other niece; Lady Elizabeth Murray (Sarah Gadon), who also lost her mother. Dido's suitability as a companion to Elizabeth is a factor in the Earl's decision to raise them together. Dido's color is a social complication to the Earl and his wife. It even becomes house-etiquette that Dido not dine with the family when guests are present but is permitted to mingle after formal dinners, where the restrictions of social decorum become more less-constricting.

Social life at Kenwood is complicated when Lady Elizabeth Murray is presented into society while Dido is denied the same by the Earl and Lady Murray. While Elizabeth is courted by a young man named James Ashford (Tom Felton), his older brother Oliver (James Norton) is smitten with Dido; which sickens James. The Ashford family hopes an Ashford/Murray union will bring wealth to the family but become furious when they learn Elizabeth is penniless. Meanwhile, Dido's financial future is secured when it is revealed her Admiral father left her with a substantial income; making her a more attractive catch to the Ashford clan. Though Dido responds to Oliver's wooing, her heart belongs to John Davinier (Sam Reid); a clergyman's son who hopes to rise in the legal ranks where he might effect change and more importantly; end slavery. The Earl opposes Davinier's attentions for reasons involving the young man's feeble social rank but also complicating the relationship between them is a case known to history as the Zong Massacre.

In 1781, a British naval vessel named Zong, owned by a slave-trading syndicate, sailed from Africa to Jamaica with its human and non-human cargoes. The overcrowded ship, ill-provided with water and ravaged by disease, decimated both crew and slaves alike. It comes to light later that the captain deliberately missed several ports to restock its dwindling supplies. Fearful that the diseased crew would contaminate the cargo (as was claimed later), slaves were thrown overboard to their watery deaths. The company who owned the slaves made an insurance claim; demanding compensation for the value of human cargo lost. The incident created a uproar back in England, with accusations of fraud by those hoping to seek justice for the murdered slaves and by abolitionists who wanted Britain to end the ignominious slave trade. In the center of this controversy and scandal was the Lord Chief Justice himself, who was pressured by various parties who believed the company deserved financial restitution, those who were convinced of the company's heinous, fraudulent practices and by abolitionists.

In the film, Dido learns of the incident (much to the Earl's annoyance), which draws her closer to John Davinier, whose indefatigable efforts to persuade the Lord Chief Justice to deny the slave-trading company its claims and his romantic interest in Dido, make him persona non grata at Kenwood.

Dido becomes engaged to Oliver Ashford then breaks it when she is mistreated viciously one day by Oliver's younger brother. The Ashford family's aggressive pursuit of wealth and status also contributes to her decision. Defying the Earl's disdain for Davinier, Dido becomes involved in the efforts to bring the slave traders to justice by providing documents of the Zong's ship log to the young lawyer.
The climax of the film involves Dido's love for Davinier and the crucial judgement by the Lord Chief Justice on the Zong Case. The rest is history, to use an over-summoned and overworked cliche.

From the previews, I expected Belle to be a dry, sterile costume drama in the tradition of Merchant-Ivory productions. I was impressed with how it handles the complicated Zong case and Dido's life at Kenwood. It is difficult to follow the developments in the case (make sure you don't doze) but it is fascinating. Kudos to the screenwriter Misan Sagay for crafting a screenplay that addresses both Zong and Dido's life, which are inter-related and speak to the issue of servitude. The film recognizes slavery in all its isidious guises: the African slave trade, Dido's near servile position in British society and John Davinier's diminished social ranking; a class distinction that leaves him in a position not unlike Dido's.

Fine performances all around, particularly from Mbatha-Raw and Reid. Reid also delivers a terrific performance in The Railway Man and here he offers the same square-jawed charisma and fine acting. Mbatha-Raw plays her character with dignity and intelligence.

I enjoyed the dialogue, which resurrects the eloquence of a vanished age, where education, diction and englightenment were once highly-regarded.

I don't know that Belle is a brilliant film but it has much on its mind and it is an effective drama. Its statement about slavery and inequality--the latter still sadly evident today--is very relevant and its triumphant conclusion demonstrates society's potential for eradicating a persistent, global problem. Assante handles the material deftly, showing directorial promise. Belle isn't just one more costume drama with striking scenery and comely finery; it has plenty of brains to match its beauty.