Eleanor Reviews

**** In the 1700s, Dido Elizabeth Belle is brought to live with in England. She is the illegitimate child of a Royal Navy Captain and a slave, but her great-aunt and uncle decide to take her in. She is raised amongst the aristocracy alongside her cousin, Elizabeth, receiving the same education and care. However, her colour prevents her from being fully accepted into society, regardless of her position as an heiress. Alongside her journey of self-discovery is the Zong case, over which her great-uncle is presiding, the outcome of which will effect Britain’s involvement in the slave trade. This is a beautiful and heart-felt period drama which deals with both a pivotal court case and a love story. Comparisons have been made to Jane Austen when it comes to the love triangle, and indeed the excellent script (written by Misan Sagay) displays the same elegant command of the English language as her books, but I would suggest that this film has slightly more ‘bite’ than you would ini

(I haven’t given this a star-rating because I can’t decide upon one.) In 1932, Jimmy Gralton returns to his home county in Ireland, ten years after he fled the country for fear of imprisonment after building a community hall without the permission of the Church. Upon returning, he finds that little has changed for the members of his community, who still live in fear of eviction and the Church. It is in this political climate that he chooses to reopen the hall. For starters, I don’t believe this story works as a film – there are too many characters, too many different relationships and a great deal of politics floating around, and I think it would’ve worked far better as a TV series rather than a one-off film. As a film, it is wholly unremarkable and rather problematic, although not without moments of merit, and feels very televisual, something that would play on TV on a Sunday afternoon rather than in a cinema. Within the first few moments of the film opening, I felt that it