Billy Elliot (2000)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Stephen Daldry

Writer:

Lee Hall (written by)

Release Date:

29 September 2000 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Inside every one of us is a special talent waiting to come out. The trick is finding it.

Plot:

A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family.

Plot Keywords:

Ballet | Strike | Boxing | Boy | Miners Strike

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 49 wins & 54 nominations

Cast

Jamie Bell	...	Billy Elliot
Jean Heywood	...	Grandma
Jamie Draven	...	Tony Elliot
Gary Lewis	...	Dad (Jackie Elliot)
Stuart Wells	...	Michael Caffrey
Mike Elliot	...	George Watson
Billy Fane	...	Mr. Braithwaite
Nicola Blackwell	...	Debbie Wilkinson
Julie Walters	...	Mrs. Wilkinson
Carol McGuigan	...	Librarian
Joe Renton	...	Gary Poulson
Colin MacLachlan	...	Mr. Tom Wilkinson (as Colin Maclachlan)
Janine Birkett	...	Billy's Mum
Trevor Fox	...	PC Jeff Peverly
Charlie Hardwick	...	Sheila Briggs

Also Known As:

Dancer (France) (festival title) (UK) (working title)
Billy Elliot (France)
Билли Эллиот (Russia) [ru]
Billy Elliot (Poland) [pl]
Billy Elliot (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Billy Elliot (Denmark) [da]
Billy Elliot (Finland) [fi]
Billy Elliot (Spain) [es]
Billy Elliot - I Will Dance (Germany) [de]
Billy Elliot: Quiero bailar (Spain) [es]
Gennimenos horeftis (Greece) [el]
Little Dancer (Japan: English title) [en]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some thematic material. (edited version)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Finland:K-8 | South Korea:12 | USA:PG-13 (cut video version) | USA:R (theatrical release) | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Denmark:7 | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Ireland:15 | Singapore:PG | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Canary Wharf Underground Station, Canary Wharf, Isle of Dogs, London, England, UK

Company:

Arts Council of England

Trivia:

Jamie Bell was going through puberty at the time of filming. Some of his dialog had to be post-synched as his voice had broken. And the opening scene in which he jumps up and down on a bed to T-Rex's "Cosmic Dancer" was shot over a lengthy period of time. For the latter takes, Bell had acquired hair on his legs and had to have them shaved.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the mobile library scene, several book spines are clearly visible, revealing titles published well after the 1984 setting of the film: Lisa Appignanesi wrote 'Memory and Desire' in 1991, Barbara Taylor Bradford wrote 'Hold the Dream' in 1985, and Shirlee Busbee wrote 'This Spanish Rose', 1986.

Quotes:

Mrs. Wilkinson: She must've been a very special woman, your mother.
Billy: No she was just me mam.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Sean Hayes/Shaggy (#26.12)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Burning Up

Sheer magic

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.