Review of Billy Elliot (2000) by Laura R — 05 Aug 2015

Stories about the triumph of the underdog done wrong may strike viewers hopelessly predictable and lacking in emotional resonance, but luckily, BILLY ELLIOT is an example of such a tale treated in the proper manner.

Set during the coal miners' strike in Nothern England in 1984, the title character is an eleven year old boy who becomes interested in taking dancing classes with Mrs. Wilkinson's (Julie Waters) ballet, trading his boxing gloves to do so.

His father (Gary Lewis), a coal miner on strike, is furious when he finds out and tries to stop his son out of fear of being perceived as a "poof." It would be very tempting to make the characters of this tale as clear cut and mono dimensional, but BILLY ELLIOT, thankfully, steers around that pitfall.

The performers, including a then unknown Jamie Bell, who exudes raw talent in dancing and passion, Lewis, and Walters, all do an excellent job of embuing their roles with very real, fragile people with problems.

Billy Elliot himself, incidentally, isn't always likable (at one point he attacks another kid his age out of frustration), and yet we root for him because his unbridled passion is so hard to deny.

Aside from being a great character study, BILLY ELLIOT excels in other areas: the choreography is top-notch and really brings a lot of "electricity" to the picture, and the film succeeds in being genuinely emotional without feeling manipulative.

BILLY ELLIOT proved popular enough to spawn a similarly successful musical, and for good reason. This is a truly inspirational and heart tugging film that I highly recommend, although it should be noted that there are some violent, disturbing scenes involving tempers, police attacks, and a heavy overload of profanity.