Could it be that the British have a soft spot in their hearts for popular American films of a previous generation? At the end of this summer, they gave us Saving Grace, a comedy that seems to have been inspired, in part, by the Cheech and Chong vehicle Up In Smoke. Now, they've sent us Billy Elliot, a movie that can easily be compared to Flashdance. Both stories involve young people from working class backgrounds wishing to study ballet. Billy Elliot is even set around the same time as Flashdance. In the case of both imports, though, the filmmakers added an touch of plausibility missing from the domestic releases.
Jamie Bell stars as Billy Elliot, the 12-year-old son of a widowed, striking coal miner in mid-eighties England. His father, Jackie (Gary Lewis), encourages Billy to take up sports, and even pays the local social club to teach the boy to box as well as he once did. Billy takes the lessons, but is totally lost in the ring, as an opponent knocks him out with one punch. At home, he'd rather put on his brother's copy of Electric Warrior by T. Rex and dance to the album. One day, while practicing on the punching bag, he notices the ballet class led by Mrs. Wilkinson (Julie Walters) and sneaks away to join them. She sees potential in Billy and encourages him to stay with her dance class, even though he is the only boy there. Billy does that, but never tells Jackie. His father finds out from the boxing teacher, who happens to be on the picket line with Jackie.
Both the father and Billy's brother, Tony (Jamie Draven) are outraged, as they take Billy's interest in ballet as a sign the boy is effete. Because he kept his lessons from his family, they don't realize that the practice that failed to make him a better boxer had an opposite effect when it came to dancing. The only family support comes from his forgetful grandmother, who claims she could have been in the Royal Ballet. Mrs. Wilkinson even arranged an audition for Billy at the Royal Ballet School in London, but he didn't go. Tony then demands to see his little brother dance, and he dances right out of the house and through the streets of Everington to The Jam song, "A Town Called Malice."
Meanwhile, Billy is watching the world change around him. The strike becomes more contentious as the economics demand that some of the miners defy their union and return to work. Jackie even thinks about it, for he has to chop up the family piano for firewood. Billy and his best friend are making sexual discoveries about themselves. Mrs. Wilkinson manages to arrange another audition for Billy, and this time, Jackie accompanies his son for the trip to London. He wants the boy to try and succeed at something that will make him happy.
Billy Elliot not only evokes memories of Flashdance, but also of more recent films about British working class angst, such as The Full Monty. Billy Elliot isn't as cute or as polished as these other films, and that works to the film's advantage. Director Stephen Daldry shows the starkness of life in Everington with Jackie walking alone at work, surrounded by nothing but strip mined land. Billy's dance to The Jam ends with him dancing into the metal wall at the end of a dead end street. These scenes enhance the urgency of Billy's father to provide the boy with a positive outlook on the future, especially with Billy coming of age.
Bell delivers a strong performance as Billy, adeptly showing the joys and pains of growing up. I like the scenes where Billy stands up to Jackie by proving his dancing skill. There is pride, intensity, and anger in Bell's face all at once. Walters is equally impressive as Billy's mentor, dispensing equal parts of hard work and tenderness. Mrs. Wilkinson stays on Billy when he thinks he's done his best, yet also has a scene where she asks Billy to bring some personal treasures to a practice so she can show a lesson about ballet. Lewis and Draven also do nice work as unlikely converts to ballet.
Billy Elliot owes some of its inspiration to films of the recent past, yet the senses of joy and discovery seem more natural than its predecessors. Billy is a more credible candidate than Alex Owens or The Full Monty dancers to make a living from his passion. Billy Elliot is more than just an engaging coming of age picture. It is the wise and poignant portrait of a family reaching a new age in their existence.
The life of 11-year-old Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell), a coal-miner s son, is forever changed one day when he stumbles upon a ballet class during his week...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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