Passionate, engrossing story overcomes cliches

Rating: 8/10 (29 October 2000)

I'm not sure why this film is being compared to the Full Monty other than the fact that it involves folks from Northern England. The films are quite different.
Billy Elliot is a movie just chock full of cliches but instead of being a bore, it's a wonderful film. The main reason is that the passion and sincerity behind this film is amazing. The acting by Jamie Bell is outstanding and is one of the main reasons to see this movie.

I was completely engrossed in this film even though I knew how it would turn out and the characters are pretty stereotypical in many ways.

Just goes to show you how long you can go with a fundamentally good story, great acting, good direction, and actually caring more about the film than making money.