Directed by:
Stephen DaldryScreenplay:
Lee HallCinematography:
Brian TufanoComposer:
Stephen WarbeckCast:
Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Gary Lewis, Jamie Draven, Jean Heywood, Mike Elliot, Nicola Blackwell, Colin Maclachlan, Trevor Fox, Charlie Hardwick (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell) is an 11-year-old boy living in northeast England in the mid-1980s. While his gruff father and brother are taking part in a massive coal miners strike, Billy goes to boxing lessons and furtively plays his dead mother's piano out of loneliness. One day Billy notices a ballet class nearby. Intrigued, he begins practicing and taking lessons from Mrs. Wilkinson (Julie Walters), a tough-minded teacher. Billy begins to fall in love with ballet but keeps his lessons a secret from his family, who struggle to put food on the table while the strike drags on. When his father finally learns the truth, a family crisis erupts, and Billy struggles to prove that dancing is more than just a hobby--it's his dream. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Videos (1)
Reviews (6)
Billy Elliot crushed me mentally in such a way that for the first time in the movie theatre I was ashamed of my emotional manifestations. I cried half the film. It reminded me of a beautifully filmed psychotherapy... The beautiful story of adolescence and self-awareness of an English boy may well appeal more to the male part of the population; indeed, I do not know of a better film about a son's relationship with his father, of fighting conventions and prejudices. I just found a piece of my dilemmas and repressed pains in Billy Elliot. A great piece in all respects. It functions as a decent social comedy, as a personal and social drama, as well as a sweet-hearted balsam on the soul...
()
It's been a long time since I've come across a film that brought me to tears in the positive sense of the word. Until yesterday. I didn't feel that I was being emotionally blackmailed, and even if I was, I could forgive this film for everything. Emotions, that's what I love about movies. Thanks Daldry for a beautiful experience.
()
Hayao Miyazaki is a master of animation, James Cameron is a master of the spectacular, and Stephen Daldry is a master of drama. What this guy can convey in his films, that's something you don't see every day. Compared to The Hours and The Reader, Billy Elliot is a little less bleak and shocking, but it's more fun and cool. The film is dominated by excellent performances from Jamie Bell and Julie Walters, along with great music and a peppy script. I really liked the straightforward style of storytelling, the rushes of emotion and the amount of verve. In short, even if Daldry stuck it out after The Reader, there will never be a better drama director ... period.
()
I don't have much to complain about here. Another one of those movies I avoided for a long time, but in the end, I gave it a chance, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. A great story about a boy who just wants to fulfill his dream, with societal critique in the background that sometimes takes the forefront. The relationship between Billy and his father is brilliantly portrayed.
()
In terms of screenwriting, it's a simple small-town tale about a talented boy who wants to make his dream come true at any cost, and in order to do so, he'll not only have to undergo hardships due to his family background and his considerably choleric father, but the socio-political situation in 1980s Britain doesn't help either, which, by the way, contrasts quite well with the gentle yet hard-working nature of ballet. I don’t quite understand all the musings about it here, because there’s certainly nothing novel, though this is a proper, intimate British comedy with a positive vibe.
()
Ads