Belle (2014)

"You are..You are...YOU ARE....illegitimate!" -Lady Elizabeth Murray

As period dramas go, I find that the story's success will be inversely related to the amount of time spent hammering out 'the would be obvious" and explaining that there is dramatic tension.  Thus, excellent period dramas explain very little and simply take their surroundings as fact. Poor period dramas spend vast amounts of time explaining relations, the issues of power, and the intricacies of then current politics/social issues over and over.  I also content that the relationship between exposition and success is even more divergent for a British period drama.  Propriety would insist that exposition is tacky.

With this in mind, I consider Belle to be on the poorer end of the period drama spectrum.  Its plot and script are written with extensive elements of heavy handed exposition.  Additionally, I found the word choice and syntax of the script to be jagged and below English high society elegance.  However, there were some positives to Belle.  1. The actors were professional and performed remarkably given script limitations.  2. The costumes and sets were superb.  I wish the script had taken the time to be written with the same care and attention to detail that went into hat selection.

I have two additional notes on the film.  Why is it titled Belle?  The main character is referred to throughout the film as Dido, which is her first name.  I'm only curious as to if the marketing department felt that a film titled "Dido" might not perform as well as one with a more elegant and fairy-tale-esque name?  Additionally, as a note for Mr. Tom Felton, AKA Draco Malfoy, I appreciate that you can play spite and malice as well as any actor, but please be careful as you are in danger of becoming typecast.  I would like to see you take on more diverse roles.

On a scale of The House of Commons to The House of Lords, I give Belle 3.2 out of 5 stars.