Belle (2013)

Jack, Scott, Brian, and I loved this gorgeous and moving costume drama, based on a true story about an illegitimate bi-racial daughter of an 18th century white English nobleman raised by her grand-uncle and -aunt.* The plot includes much discussion of slavery (Belle's mother was an African slave), which was outlawed in England before the American Civil War. Gugu Mbatha-Raw (whom I deemed "radiant" in Larry Crowne) shines in the title role of the proper, yet outspoken and passionate young lady. The ever-reliable Tom Wilkinson (after blogging about him in The Lone Ranger I mentioned his brief appearance in The Grand Budapest Hotel) and Emily Watson (most recently in The Book Thief) are Belle's guardians, and Sarah Gadon (I don't remember her in Cosmopolis, nor as Mrs. Jung in A Dangerous Method) is sweet as Belle's cousin, raised as her sister. Matthew Goode (last in A Single Man) makes an impression as Belle's compassionate birth father, and Penelope Wilton (most recently of Downton Abbey and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) and Miranda Richardson (last blogged in Made in Dagenhem) are fabulous as the spinster aunt and a reprehensible potential mother-in-law, respectively.

*Note on wording: as a person whose nieces and nephews have children, I prefer the term grand-aunt to great-aunt and have decided I'll use it from now on.

Apparently there's been some dispute about the screenplay, credited solely to Misan Sagay (an Englishwoman of color, she's credited with one other movie which I haven't seen). Sagay definitely wrote the first draft or two, inspired by a real painting (detailed in this video which may contain spoilers--you will get to see the painting in the movie, or here if you like) and then director Amma Asante (ditto, ditto) wrote quite a few drafts after that, including the shooting script. But the Writers Guild found in Sagay's favor.

Yes, this is a costume drama, and the wardrobe (oh, those gowns, those hats!) may earn an Oscar nomination for Anushia Nieradzik (I've seen only Circle of Friends (1995) of her 88 credits).

The beautiful orchestral themes by Rachel Portman (last blogged in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan) can be sampled in this youtube clip and the soundtrack's amazon page.

Rotten Tomatoes critics at 84% and audiences at 89 are enjoying this too. See for yourself as it plays locally.

Note to my regular readers, I've added a new penultimate (it means second to last) paragraph to my post about Chef, so go back and look, please!