Billy Elliot
UK, 2000. Directed by Stephen Daldry, written by Lee Hall. Starring Jamie Bell, Gary Lewis (III), Julia Walters, Stuart Wells and Jamie Draven. Produced by Greg Brenman and Jonathan Finn (II).
In English, 110 minutes, rated R. USA Films and Universal Focus.

The only originality of this otherwise completely predictable movie is its premise, the idea of a young boy from a poor coal-mining town who discovers that his passion is ballet.

Set in Northern England in the eighties, the story centers on Billy (Jamie Bell), an 11 year-old growing up in a harsh environment. His father and brother, miners on a union strike, clash violently with the police on a daily basis, while Billy takes care of his grandmother who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Unable to share memories of his dead mother with his family, who won't - or can't - talk about her, Billy finds happiness in music and Gene Kelly movies. His father's only expectation is for him to follow the family tradition by taking boxing classes, although Billy doesn't care for this sport. It is in the boxing hall that he discovers ballet and secretly goes against his father's wishes and his social background to learn to dance.

Billy Elliot suffers from the scenario's predictability as well as from its propensity towards sappiness. While some moments are rendered poetically, many tricky scenes are treated in grand Hollywood fashion: drawn out and heavily supplemented by schmaltzy music. On the other hand, the dance scenes are well integrated into the narrative, a feat that is difficult to pull off. The use of dance as a visual metaphor is interesting, for example when Billy dances against closed-in walls to express his frustration at being misunderstood and hemmed in by his family. On the plus side, the actors give very good performances, especially Jamie Bell, an amazing newcomer. But on the whole, there are scores of similar movies. There is nothing truly special or innovative about the way the story unfolds, nor any subtlety in the way the viewer is manipulated into feeling sad or amused. Some of the movie's elements seem contrived; for example Billy's friend Michael (Stuart Wells), portrayed as being gay - but not a dancer! -, appears to be there mainly to point out that for a boy, wanting to be a dancer doesn't necessarily mean being gay.

The film never really delves into the hardships it depicts. Every time the characters are confronted with an unpleasant reality, the story line gives them an easy way out, even if this entails a lack of credibility. In the end, the goal of this movie seems to be more about pleasing the audience than being realistic. Billy Elliot is commendable because slower paced films depicting real life issues are getting scarce in this action-packed movie era, yet it ends up being just another feel-good picture.

© Briana Berg, 2001