Belle is a masterful historical drama

The United States has a sad history of slavery and racial prejudice, and while we have dealt with our own shame over the subject it’s easy to forget that the US was not the only country engaged in buying humans to put to work. And we rarely stop to think about how those unfortunate souls got here in the first place.

The new historical drama Belle gives us a bit of a history lesson on the British role in the Atlantic Slave Trade, and how that role changed thanks in part to a young black woman by the name of Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay. Dido was actually mixed race, her father being an Admiral in the British navy and her mother a slave.

Upon the death of her mother, Lindsay took Dido to live with with uncle Lord Mansfield while he was sent off to sea (unfortunately never to return). Dido’s presence was met with some resistance in the household but she was eventually accepted as part of the family. That is until company came for dinner and Dido was forced to eat alone. Her position in society (because of her skin color) was not high enough to dine with guests, but too high to dine with the household slaves.

As Dido and her cousin (whom she referred to as a sister) matured, it became time for them to go husband hunting for a man, and a family, of wealth and position. It was assumed no one would accept Dido, but with her inheritance she was told she did not need a husband and was expected to take over the care of the estate from an aunt, relegating her to spinsterdom. But Dido did attract the eye of two men, one of whom was simply attracted to her inheritance and the other, John Davinier, fighting for social justice.

Dido’s great uncle was a judge who had to decide on a case involving a slave ship which threw its “cargo” overboard, claiming it was for the crew’s safety as they had run out of water. Davinier was trying to prove to Lord Mansfield that the shippers were simply trying to defraud the insurance company, and the slaves had actually been murdered but Mansfield knew that if he didn’t rule properly, the British economy could be irreparably harmed. Little did he know Dido had a good head on her shoulders and knew more about his case than she should have, butting heads with her great uncle in the process.

Belle is a lavishly produced historical drama that, even though it takes place at the end of the 18th century, resonates with audiences today … especially in its portrayal of a strong woman of color who does not let anyone make decisions for her, whether it be in matters of love or human rights. Gugu Mbatha-Raw is stunningly beautiful, but she never uses her beauty to get her way. She gives Dido a fire in her soul that certainly must have given people pause in her day. Her performance is star-making (even though she has quite a long resumé), and should garner some awards notice at the end of the year (if voters can remember this far back come December).

The rest of the cast is also quite good with Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson as Dido’s surrogate parents, Miranda Richardson as the mother who wants her sons to find good (wealthy) wives … except for the one who is “so black,” and Tom Felton (aka Draco Malfoy) gets to be the villain again, abusing Dido in a most inappropriate way and lambasting his brother for even considering asking for her hand in marriage. Sam Reid take on the role of Divinier with a lot of passion, and you do root for him and Dido to get together (even after she accepts Oliver Ashford’s marriage proposal).

The story mostly takes place at the Mansfield estate, which is a sumptuous location inside and out, with some detours into the grimy streets of London and a stuffy courthouse. Everything is filmed beautifully, and director Amma Asante never lets the film get dreary or too bogged down as some historical dramas can. In fact, the audience at the advance screening reacted more to Dido’s actions than the audience did at the screening of Godzilla.

Belle is an excellent film with a terrific cast that should become required viewing in history classes to help understand the British role in the slave trade, and the role of women, black and white, in 18th century society. It should also be seen simply for Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s masterful performance.