disappointment media
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About

BELLE -- Decent World-Building with Little Depth

1/13/2022

0 Comments

 
Review by Sean Boelman
Picture
Mamoru Hosoda’s work has gotten a great deal of acclaim over the years, and his newest film, Belle, looked to be no exception after picking up some great buzz on the festival circuit. However, despite some enchanting visuals, the movie doesn’t work all that well due to a derivative story and anticlimactic pacing. 

The film follows a shy high school student who begins to open up when her avatar skyrockets to fame in a massive online virtual world. At first, it’s interesting as the viewer becomes immersed in this world, but when it becomes clear that this is just another riff on Beauty and the Beast, it becomes rather boring pretty quickly.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the movie is that it is seemingly building to something for most of that runtime, and once that reveal is made, it’s extremely underwhelming. The film does get points for not going with the most obvious and predictable answer, but the twist also isn’t very much of a twist.

It’s a shame, because there is a legitimately good message to be found here about the dangers of bullying. There have been a few movies to address cyberbullying in the past, but given that it is a relatively recent phenomena, the world still needed a film that fully goes for it. But Hosoda only approaches the issue without saying much about it.
Picture
The protagonist of the movie is certainly likable as an approachable underdog, but everyone in the story is frustratingly thin. What the film fails to do is establish a connection to many of these characters in the real world. Even if their larger-than-life online personas are interesting, the high school stuff is generic and bland.

Kaho Nakamura gives a very strong voice performance in her leading role, but no one else in the movie is particularly impressive. Thankfully, much of the film is carried on Nakamura’s shoulders, as her ability to emote is what drives a majority of the story, but that can only go so far when the rest of the cast doesn’t mesh with her.

Visually, the movie is certainly very ambitious, almost to a fault. There is obviously some gorgeous animation, but other parts feel like sensory overload. A majority of the effort of this film seems to have been put into developing the world stylistically, and that is why it is the best part of the movie, even if the energy gets to be a bit much at times.

Belle has some very strong elements in play, but for the most part, it doesn’t live up to the tremendous bar set by its visual creativity. Maybe the most damning thing that can be said about it is that it doesn’t say enough.

Belle hits theaters on January 14. 

​Rating: 2.5/5
               
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Authors

    All
    Adam Donato
    Alan French
    Allison Brown
    Borja Izuzquiz
    Camden Ferrell
    Cole Groth
    Daniel Lima
    Dan Skip Allen
    Erin M. Brady
    Jonathan Berk
    Joseph Fayed
    Josh Batchelder
    Paris Jade
    Rafael Motamayor
    Sarah Williams
    Sean Boelman
    Tatiana Miranda

disappointment media

Dedicated to unique and diverse perspectives on cinema!
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About