Billy Elliot (2000)

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

Director:

Stephen Daldry

Writer:

Lee Hall

Stars:

Jamie Bell, Jean Heywood, Jamie Draven

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 55 wins & 56 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

County Durham, during the endless, violent 1984 strike against the Thatcher closure of British coal mines. Widower Jackie Elliot and his firstborn, fellow miner Tony, take a dim view of 11 year-old second son Billy's poor record in boxing class, which worsens when they discover he sneakily transferred to the neighboring, otherwise girls-only-attended ballet class. Only one schoolmate, closet-gay Michael Caffrey, encourages Billy's desire, aroused by the teacher, who judged him talented enough for private lesson, to train and try out for the world-renowned Royal Ballet audition. Only the prospect of a fancy career unimagined in the pauper quarter may twist pa and big brother's opposition to indispensable support.

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Plot Keywords:

ballet | strike | boxing | miner | class | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some thematic material

Details

Official Sites:

Universal

Country:

UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 2000 (UK)

Also Known As:

Dancer

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$215,681 (USA) (13 October 2000)

Gross:

ESP 1,227,765,776 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arts Council of England, BBC Films, StudioCanal

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the final scene, the ballet in which Billy performs is Mathew Bourne's version of "Swan Lake" where all the Swans are played by men. Billy plays the part of the Swan, the same part he discusses with Mrs Wilkinson earlier in the film.

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Goofs

When Jackie is inside the bus leading to the mine, an egg hits his window (at around 1h 14 mins), but when the bus is viewed from outside, the window is clean (01:14:44).

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Quotes

Billy: My hands are freezing.
Michael: 'Gizzem here.
Billy: [Michael takes his hands and puts them in his jacket] What are you doing?
Michael: Nothin'. Just warmin' your hands up.
Billy: [pause] You're not a poof or owt?
Michael: [deadpan] What gave you that impression?
Billy: Aren't me hands cold?
Michael: I quite like it.
[kisses Billy on the cheek; they stare at each other]
Billy: Just because I like ballet, doesn't mean I'm a poof, you know.
[...]

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Connections

Featured in About a Boy (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Ride A White Swan"
Words and Music by Marc Bolan
Performed by T-Rex
Courtesy of Straight Ahead Productions Limited

User Reviews

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.