How, I wondered, could Billy Elliot be compared to The Full Monty and Brassed Off? After all one film deals with a boy who wants to dance, another with men who decide to bare all, and the other with a bunch of dysfunctional band members. But there are definitely similarities because all deal with the economic downturn in Northern England and the difficult adjustments made by those affected by the recession. Billy Elliot, takes place in 1984 when the coal mines of Durham County are in danger of being shut down after a long strike has nearly crippled the industry. The strong feelings of the miners against the "scabs" who cross the picket lines come across loud and clear.(NOTE: I use WebTV and cannot paragraph so I use dots.) .......................................................................................................................................................Young Billy (Jamie Bell) lives with his father, brother, and slightly daffy grandmother. His mother has died leaving the family in an emotional shambles. Billy takes a weekly boxing lesson but it clearly is not to his liking. In the same gym a girl's ballet class takes place with teacher Mrs. Wilkinson (Julie Walters) putting the girls through their routine of plies and other ballet movements. Billy wanders over to observe the girls dance (after being caught by a surprise right hook by his boxing partner) and in a shy way begins to imitate the girl's moves. He soon becomes hooked on the world of dance and is helped along by Mrs. Wilkinson, all the while keeping the truth from his "Da" who thinks the ballet (or bolly as he pronounces it) is just for "poofs."..........................................................................................................................................................Billy manages to continue his dancing and after a great deal of bickering and lack of understanding on the part of his family, finally has a chance to audition for the Royal Ballet. One of the most moving scenes was when the father fingers the jewelry of his late wife wondering if he should sacrifice the memories associated with these baubles for Billy's future...............................................................................................................................................................There is a great deal of emotion shown throughout the film, not just between father and son, but the kindness and understanding of Billy with a friend who is going through a gender identity crisis. I only had two complaints with the film. One, the dialect being representative of the Northern England working class was often hard to understand, but the plot was still easy to follow. Two, the final "leap" by Billy at the end of the movie left me wanting to see more.
Nominated for three Academy Awards , including Best Original Screenplay and Best Director, Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper (Ebert & Roeper and the Movi...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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