Billy Elliot

Billy Elliot

Foursquare in the gritty-but-heartwarming tradition of Brassed Off and The Full Monty comes Billy Elliot, the first film from noted British theatrical director Stephen Daldry. The setting is County Durham in 1984, and things "up north" are even grimmer than usual: the miners' strike is in full rancorous swing, and 11-year-old Billy's dad and older brother, miners both, are on the picket lines. Billy's got problems of his own. His dad has scraped together the fees to send him to boxing lessons, but Billy has discovered a different aptitude: a genius for ballet dancing. Since admitting to such an activity is tantamount, in this fiercely macho culture, to holding up a sign reading "I Am Gay," Billy keeps it quiet. But his teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson (Julie Walters, wearily undaunted), thinks he should audition for ballet school in London. Family ructions are inevitable. Daldry's film sidesteps some of the politics, both sexual and otherwise, but scores with its laconic dialogue (credit to screenwriter Lee Hall) and a cracking performance from newcomer Jamie Bell as Billy. His powerhouse dance routines, more Gene Kelly than Nureyev, carry an irresistible sense of exhilaration and self-discovery. Among a flawless supporting cast, Stuart Wells stands out as Billy's sweet gay friend Michael. And if the miners' strike serves largely as background color, the brief episode when visored and truncheon-wielding cops rampage through neat little terraced houses captures one of the most spiteful episodes in recent British history. --Philip Kemp

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
Director(s): Stephen Daldry
Production: NCM Fathom
  Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 54 wins & 65 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.7
Metacritic:
74
Rotten Tomatoes:
85%
R (Restricted)
Year:
2000
111
37,452 Views

Billy Elliot:
Miss, what if I blown?

Sandra Wilkinson:
This'll sound strange, Billy. But for sometime now, I've been thinking of the Royal Ballet School?

Billy Elliot:
Aren't you a bit old, Miss?

Sandra Wilkinson:
No, not me, you. I'm the bloody teacher. They hold auditions in Newcastle.

Billy Elliot:
I'll never be good enough. I hardly know it.

Sandra Wilkinson:
No look, they're not interested in how much ballet you know, they teach you that. That's why they're a ballet school, it's how you move and how you express yourself that's important.

Billy Elliot:
Express what?

Sandra Wilkinson:
I think you're good enough to go for it.

[short pause, Billy steps back into the car]

Sandra Wilkinson:
It'll mean an awful lot of hard work.

Billy Elliot:
But I'm banned.

Sandra Wilkinson:
Maybe I should have a word with him.

Billy Elliot:
[nervously] No, Miss!

Sandra Wilkinson:
Well, I can teach you on your own, if you want?

Billy Elliot:
I wouldn't afford it.

Sandra Wilkinson:
I'm not doing it for the money, Billy.

Billy Elliot:
But what about dad?

Sandra Wilkinson:
He doesn't need to know.

Billy Elliot:
And what about me boxing and that?

Sandra Wilkinson:
Oh, for f*** sake, Billy! If you wanna piss about with your little mates, that's fine with me!

Billy Elliot:
Well, all right, all right, don't lose your blob!

Sandra Wilkinson:
[short pause] Blob?

[Miss Wilkinson and Billy smile]

Billy Elliot:
So we can do it privately?

Sandra Wilkinson:
[holds his hand] Just you and me.

Billy Elliot:
[short pause] Miss, you don't fancy me, do you?

Sandra Wilkinson:
No, Billy, funnily enough I don't. [laughs] Now piss off.

Billy Elliot:
[short pause, smiles] Piss off yourself.


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