Typical British Fare

Rating: 6/10 (28 March 2005)

This is a movie very similar to a large number of British movies produced from 1995 to 2000 . Notice how it falls into a formula ?
1 ) The protagonist is trying to pursue a dream in spite of adversity
2) It's set in the North of England
3 ) There's a blossoming romance involving the main protagonist and a supporting character
4 ) The main female lead is a strong character played by an actress known originally for their TV work
5 ) There's a political subtext
BILLY ELLIOT follows the same formula as all the other films that preceded it like WHEN Saturday COMES , THE FULL MONTY , LITTLE VOICE , BRASSED OFF etc and is probably the last in the line of this typical British film making fare from the last years of the 20th century . Thankfully someone soon realised there's only so much that an audience can take before you kill the golden goose
On its own BILLY ELLIOT works because it says a lot about British working class culture . Name almost any foreign country you want and the reply will be getting blind drunk , getting into mindless punch ups and becoming pregnant at 14 is a reason for shame . Alas British working class mores seems to allow this type of self destructive behaviour . What it doesn't allow is young boys to follow their ambitions as a ballet dancer less they be accused of being " some sort of poof " and the movie hits the nail on the head with this type of Brit culture . Yeah it might be ignorant attitude but that's the way it is in this country . Unfortunately by being so accurate as to British working class mentality means that BILLY ELLIOT works better as social commentary rather than entertainment