Belle: Toronto ReviewPosted in Articles, Book/Video Reviews, History, Media Archive, United Kingdom, United States on 2013-09-14 15:19Z by Steven |
The Hollywood Reporter
2013-09-12
The true story of a mixed-race child raised by British aristocrats is lightly fictionalized by Amma Asante.
TORONTO — Hoping to use some Jane Austen-style courtship anxiety to lend drama to an episode in 18th-century English history that is novel enough on its own, Amma Asante’s Belle centers on Dido Elizabeth Belle, the mixed-race child who was sent to be raised by the second-highest judge in England’s courts. Though the inventions of Misan Sagay’s script emphasize concerns over dowries and social rank that will be grating for many contemporary viewers, extracting little of the humor that Austen regularly found in such hangups, the picture’s sour notes are balanced by fine performances and clear historical appeal. Moviegoers should respond well, if not overwhelmingly, when Fox Searchlight brings it to theaters next spring…
Read the entire review here.