If you like watching a bunch of stodgy English people with stodgy English accents talking about things, look no further than Belle, a drama that tries not to be like every other stodgy English period piece but ultimately is just like every other stodgy English period piece.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as Dido Elizabeth Belle, a mixed race woman who was raised in England in the 1780s. The movie revolves around her place in society and shifting views toward slavery in the U.K.

Mbatha-Raw does a fine job, and the supporting cast, which includes Matthew Goode, Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson, are good as well.

But as much as Belle suggests it's about progressiveness, the movie itself is just another period piece where the main character wants to question class and order and everyone else stands around debating such things. Aside from the main character being half-black, there isn't anything particularly unique or interesting here.

Belle is harmless, but does the world need yet another period drama about stodgy English people with stodgy English accents?

Review by Erik Samdahl. Erik is a marketing and technology executive by day, avid movie lover by night. He is a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society.