Billy Elliot (2000) Reviews

• Sheer magic

  Geofbob2005-12-22

  Billy Elliott is a moving, uplifting, and often exuberant, drama about motherless young Billie (Jamie Bell) fulfilling his dream of becoming a ballet dancer, in the process overcoming the objections and prejudices of his father and brother (Gary Lewis and Jamie Draven). It is also a piece of magic realism, with political overtones. By setting their near fairy tale in the context of a close-knit mining community, and more specifically against the backdrop of the 1984/5 miners' strike - a defining moment of modern British economic and social history - writer Lee Hall and director Stephen Daldry are able to refer to gender and class issues, without turning their work into a political tract, and without losing focus on the central human drama. The film is realised near flawlessly. Bell achieves a convincing blend of adolescent bewilderment and defiance; if his dancing is not quite as good as we might expect, the storyline explains this away by saying that at this early stage his attitude and drive are more important than his technique. The dancing set pieces, clearly inspired more by Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly than by Nijinksky, are performed with gusto, mainly to pop songs by T-Rex. Lewis and Draven put gritty realism and passion into their roles of a father and son committed to their community and to the miners' cause. They make us feel their despair as they realise that this cause is lost; but also their endurance as they come to terms both with Billie's aspirations and their own uncertain futures - within a few years most UK coalmines would be closed. (The colliery in Easington, the real-life location of the film, closed in 1994.). The scenes of violence between strikers and police are presented uncompromisingly and authentically, but with the occasional touch of humour. Julie Walters provides an outstanding performance as Mrs Wilkinson, the dancing teacher who recognises and fosters Billie's talent; and helps him resist his own and his family's inhibitions. She is perfect as the chain-smoking, straight-talking mentor, who has her own personal disappointments and hurts, which she hopes Billie's success will help heal. To we outsiders watching the movie, Mrs Wilkinson appears as an integral part of the local community; but it is made clear that in the mid-80s, as far as Billie's family and friends are concerned, she is a middle class outsider, almost as alien as another species. One issue which the film tackles head-on is traditional heterosexual male abhorrence of homosexuality. This attitude clearly underlies the shock of Billie's father and brother when they discover his interest in ballet. They would be even more horrified if they realised that his best friend was discovering gay tendencies in himself. It is typical of the sensitive direction that without labouring the point the film indicates by its close that attitudes towards gays changed radically during the 1980s and 90s along with the industrial landscape.

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• Simply excellent

  Juni78ukr2004-11-22

  I have been looking for Billy Elliot for more than two years. I heard that it should be very good or even excellent film and another reason for watching it was that I have seen several Working Title films before (About a Boy, Notting Hill, Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral) and I found all of them much more sincere and emotional than average Hollywood products. Also these British films have something to offer that you rarely can find in Hollywood movies: a charming heartwarming mixture of sweet and funny comedy and inspiring and touching drama. Last month, finally, I found the tape. From very first moments of the movie my eyes were riveted to the screen and when the movie ended feelings and emotions overflowed me. Billy Elliot in my opinion Billy Elliot is a brilliant movie, easily one of the best movies of the year and most likely of the current decade. Director of the movie Stephen Daldry brought to us an exceptional, truly inspiring and moving, emotional and poignant movie. The entire story and all the characters are completely believable and the atmosphere of small provincial town somewhere in North-Eastern England skillfully captured and transmitted to us. Sometimes the movie is sad, sometimes it's funny but Stephen Daldry's work never leave you indifferent. The story occurs in a small coal-mining town in 1984 and there are signs of a severe depression all over the town. You can see all around a shadow of distress and even poverty. Some simple but incredibly powerful scenes bring to us sad feeling of hopelessness and even despair. There is a big coalminers strike in the town but it's easy to see that it's also the hopeless strike. But all this is only a masterfully recreated background for main story of the title character, a twelve years old boy. He recently lost his mother and both his father and elder brother are striking coalminers. Billy is forced by his father to attend boxing classes and one day accidentally he see the girl ballet classes that occur in same room and he find ballet much more interesting than hated stupid boxing. So he attends those ballet classes instead the boxing and there is nothing surprising that after a few weeks his father suddenly finds out that Billy didn't attend boxing and worst of all he is attending the ballet classes. The main conflict occurs. Billy must fight for his choice, fight against his own family. There are two stereotypes against him. First one is that ballet for girls, not for boys (lads do football... or boxing... or wrestling). And second sounds even worse: all male ballet dancers are gays. Billy is not but no one from his family except aged grandma want even heard about ballet. There are only two people in the whole town, who support him – middle-aged ballet teacher Mrs. Wilkinson and his friend Michael, who is the same age as Billy and who found that he is possibly a gay. This gay subplot easily became for conservative audience a very controversial question. But the fact is that such stereotypes are not invented by the director of the movie and if you would try to learn more about this terrific picture you will found that Jamie Bell, who took dance lessons from age six, suffered from similar sneers and taunts. Billy's problem is that he must fight not only against bad obstacles and misunderstanding but also against strong social stereotypes. Several brilliant come scenes and bright humor greatly emphasize the struggles of the main hero. Jamie Bell playing Billy has on of the best performances ever among young actors. His performance (and particularly dance sequences) is so genuine, bright and sincere that all the time we can easily feel an expression of a young boy, not a director, choreographer or writer. BAFTA award for best actor of the year is well-deserved and it is pity that conservatism of the Academy too often becomes an insuperable obstacle for many great movies. Julie Walters (an Academy nomination for best supporting actress) as Billy's ballet teacher also did a great job as a talented woman as a talented women who forced to teach in small provincial town for pitiful salary. The chemistry between teacher and student is another great line in Billy Elliot. Two other important supporting characters – Billy's father and elder brother Tony are also excellent and their evolution is perfectly showed by Stephen Daldry's direction. The beautiful soundtrack is a perfect combination of a classic (including a nice reference to great Swan Lake) and modern music. The original "R" rating shouldn't mislead you. Except for strong language it should be easily a PG-13. But this is a very rare case where some strong language and profanity are necessary for authenticity and characters understanding. The movie is suitable for teens and it definitely is able to give some good lessons for them. 10 out of 10 looks well deserved. Thanks for reading and sorry for my bad English

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• a pleasure from start to finish

  off.rails2000-08-21

  With a seemingly run-of-the-mill storyline - that of an 11-year-old schoolboy wanting to be a ballet dancer - it is quite a feat to have made a movie as warm and entertaining as this. Quite simply, this is the best British movie in years. All the characters are intriguing, and the acting is flawless, most notably from 14-year-old Jamie Bell whose acting is utterly convincing, filled with humour and insight beyond his years. He is also a fantastic dancer, and some of the dance sequences are reminiscent of the dance-filled musicals of the old black and white movies. The backdrop of the historic miners' strike of the mid-1980s, it brings the story down to the earth and adds the necessary tension to make this film truly believable and a worthy story to tell. I find it hard to see how anyone would not like this film. 9 and a half out of 10.

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• Simply Fantastic

  gershwin-32001-01-06

  I went into this movie expecting to hate it, and found myself instantly smiling at the playful opening credits with Billy jumping on a trampoline. From there on it just got better and better. The wasn't even a minor character that I could say needed work. The cast as a whole was brilliant - and surprising at times. The father and brother come off as these one-sided brutal characters in the beginning and then as you watch, they become two of the most well constructed and acted characters this year and for who knows how long. Jaime Bell is brilliant for a first-timer and his dance is wonderful. There are also so many layers to the film. From brilliant cinematography to wonderful symbolism both in the script and in the music (listen for the tune Billy is playing on piano in the main score during the big moments). The music on a whole was brilliantly picked and I don't think a single element was overlooked or addressed. If you haven't seen this movie - GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND INTO THE THEATER! It is truly an experience that everyone should have and I hope to see more from this writer, director and a brilliant new face in Jaime Bell.

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• Billy Elliot - The Class of 2000

  robmillrs2000-12-10

  To say that Billy Elliot is the best movie of 2000 is to damn it with faint praise, since this year's crop is pretty uninspiring. Better to compare it to movies of the past few years, and even then it would stand out. It is a phenomenally good film, and perhaps even groundbreaking in its own way, since it goes against the trend of quirky, violent, sex-obsessed moviemaking that's become so popular recently. We've finally been given a film with a good, almost mythic story, complicated yet believable characters, a masterful blend of emotional intensity and critical restraint, and a series of dance scenes that are authentic, inspiring and completely integral to the plot. No wonder critics have been falling over themselves in heaping praise on Billy Elliot. No wonder it's been holding its own in the box office despite being shown in a mere handful of theatres (one-quarter to one- sixth as many as the big Hollywood blockbusters) and despite its receiving hardly any promotion at the moment. Its success is being driven by word of mouth. And what is the word? Here is a movie that appeals to your heart, head, funny bone, eyes and ears, and last but not least your feet, for the music and the movement will have you wanting to get up and dance. And it achieves all of this without insulting the intelligence. I sometimes wonder how the movie would have been done by Hollywood: Billy would have been made a more pathetic figure; the people in his life rendered more black and white; characters would have either remained caricatures, or made to develop in the blink of an eye. All such excesses are avoided in Billy Elliot, where the characters develop in a totally believable way, where Billy invites admiration instead of pity, and where the silences, looks and gestures all leave so much to the imagination. The dictum "Less is more" is clearly the guiding principle behind the film. The buzz for Billy has been so positive that people sometimes come away disappointed that their lives haven't been changed. So don't go expecting a "knock 'em dead" Hollywood rollercoaster. Billy Elliot is far more subtle, though the emotional moments are all the more powerful because of that. You can however believe everything that has been said of Jamie Bell. He has an outstanding screen presence and carries the movie on his little shoulders with breath-taking naturalism. His dancing is honest and powerful, and very masculine. He makes you forget that all the other actors give the performances of their careers in support. If the Oscar were awarded without consideration for age, career, box office draw or Hollywood clout, Jamie and his movie would win hands down.

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