The type of 'feel-good' movie the Brits do so well

Rating: 7/10 (26 October 2001)

I really enjoyed Billy Elliot. It gave a very nice depiction of one boy's efforts to rise above the drudgery and pessimism of strike-torn life in the English coal mines. It would have been very easy for the black side of the film to drag it down, but there is enough comic relief to balance this.
Main criticisms - the storyline was a bit predictable, and some of the dialogue was almost incomprehensible. Being a Kiwi I'm probably more used to English accents than most Americans, and I have lived in England for two years - but there were still some whole conversations where I couldn't catch a word! Perhaps taking realism a tad too far for the mass-market...
On the whole though a very enjoyable, well-acted film.