Belle - 3 1/2 smiles

“Belle” blends romance with a political drama that explores slavery from a different perspective. The 1779 double portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray, that appears at the end of “Belle,” and that actresses Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Sarah Gadon pose for in the film, is remarkable in that it captures the two young women who moved in the aristocratic circles of 18^th-century England. It is believed to be the only painting of its kind from that era – a black girl and a white girl, both in beautiful satin dresses, posing together, equally positioned in the portrait’s space. Director Amma Asante packs a lot of story and the quick pace of early scenes feel rushed, but once the story involved the grown-up Belle, the pace evens out. Dido Elizabeth Belle is the daughter of British admiral Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode) and an enslaved African woman, Maria Belle, After her mother dies, and before her father is dispatched for duty with the British navy, Dido is placed in the care of her father’s uncle, William Murray (Tom Wilkinson), who also happens to be lord chief justice, tasked with ruling on cases involving England’s slave trade, and his wife (Emily Watson). Gugu Mbatha-Raw is outstanding as Dido, a very confused young woman who exists in a state of limbo. She is too highborn to mingle with commoners and too dark-skinned to eat dinner with her own family. She is raised with her cousin, Elizabeth (Gadon), who was abandoned by her father and the pair grow up like sisters although Dido isn’t afforded certain basic accommodations that Elizabeth is. However, Elizabeth has been disowned, left with no dowry so she must marry a wealthy man. The death of Dido’s father leaves her a rich woman so she doesn’t have to marry if she doesn’t want to. One of the men willing to buck the system to be with Dido is John Davinier (Sam Reid), a passionate aspiring lawyer and devout anti-slavery activist.

The most interesting story line involves Lord Mansfield’s work as he decides the Zong massacre case, in which a ship of slave traders threw 142 slaves overboard, claiming it was necessary because supplies were running low. As if that wasn’t horrifying enough, the owners of the Zong then tried to get insurance money for the financial loss. (The trial was not a murder case but an issue of insurance fraud.) Whether Lord Mansfield will side with the insurance company or the slave traders becomes a point of contention in the family. Although Misan Sagay’s script is occasionally too talky, “Belle” is a beautiful period piece that explores racism, classism and sexism in 18^th-century England. 5/4/14