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

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 18	11:00 PM	PBS
Sun. July 19	2:50 AM	PBS
Wed. July 22	1:30 AM	PBS

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)

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:

Continuity: When Billy visits Debbie at her house, he has his school bag with him (at 00:29:37), but he doesn't have it any more when he is driven home (00:35:35).

Quotes:

[at the theatre]
Tony: What the bloody hell are you doing here?
Michael (Aged 25): I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#14.2)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

A Child Is Born

A Triumph of Highly Charged Storytelling

Billy Elliot is by far the most honestly told depiction of middle boyhood I've seen in years, if ever. I was in joyful tatters at the end of this story of a boy struggling to stay true to his calling in an anguished northern English mining town circa 1980. Every working class character in this film is written and uncompromisingly played with great love and understanding of both family and class hardship. Personally I view this film as the finest piece of British "intimiste" cinema I've seen since Mike Leigh's "Secrets and Lies". Yet it has epic elements as well. Billy's personal story unfolds while his home town is occupied by uniformed British strike control forces.

This is a tale of inter-masculine struggle in a family and mining town almost devoid of (and yearning for) a balancing feminine presence. Billy's gift is slowly awakened in this stressed and violent male crucible. His relationships with his brother, his father, his genderally confused classmate, and his teacher all grow increasingly charged as the movie develops. For honesty and presence, Jamie Bell as Billy far surpasses Haley Joel Osment's debut in The Sixth Sense. And if that's not enough, Julie Walters, Gary Lewis and Jamie Draven as Billy's teacher, dad and brother are all heartbreakingly portrayed. All are perfectly cast and at the very top of their form.

After all these characters have passed through the warzone of the first and second acts, director Steven Daldry delivers perhaps the most perfectly executed third act I have seen in a family centered drama from England or elsewhere. There are countless insightful decisions Daldry makes in the course of this film that other directors will study for years to come. But they're all brought to touching and masterful closure in the third act segments.

Kudos to scenarist Lee Hall for an excellent script. It should also be noted that many of DP Brian Tufano's beautifully composed shots match those of the great Chinese and Italian cinematographers. The film is brash in its musical style and forthright in its language. It is a film of specifics and the locale is not dressed up. And unlike many other local color films from England since 1985, this film has a strong, eminently compassionate narrative spine. Many audience members in the show I attended were immobilized and overcome in their seats during credits.

Despite frequent profanity, boys 11 and up should be allowed to see Billy Elliot, if only to keep them from abandoning hope. If it helps even one oppressed and confused boy keep an ear to the faint voice within that might just be his true calling, this film will have been worth every dollar spent in its making. A truly uplifting film.