Moving, funny and entertaining!

Rating: 7/10 (5 July 2001)

"Billy Elliot" is nice, uplifting piece that doesn't take cheap shots. The arc is quite obvious, but it's the way the film works towards that arc which I found impressive. First of all, I'd like to say that I assumed I'd be watching a family film. I ignored the R-rating, assuming it was on a technicality. But this film really is filled with harsh language! However, I didn't sweat it, because that was the film's way of capturing the realism of its characters. The characters in the story are low-class, blue-collar citizens and naturally they're not going to have the cleanest vocabulary.

The performances are great all-around. Of course, the two highlights are Julie Walters and Gary Lewis. Walters is electric as the possessive but good-natured ballet teacher. I haven't seen "Pollock" yet, so I can't say if she would've deserved to win over Marcia Gay Harden, but I can say she definitely deserved to be nominated. I also wish the Academy considered Lewis, who is powerful as Billy's overbearing father. It strikes fear in me just by observing the look in his eyes. His father-son interactions with Billy (Jamie Bell) are extremely powerful, and I love the chemistry between them. They interact the way a REAL father and son would act, and not how a tailor-made, cinematic father and son would act.
The film is set in 1984, so I was bopping my head to some cool 80s tunes. Aside from the dramatic scenes, "Billy Elliot" has a very upbeat feel and makes you want to smile. It's funny, it's entertaining, yet moving at the same time. Though it tries to be uplifting, it never forgets its dark subplots like the coal-miners strike and the loss of Billy's mother who he, in one scene, imagines in the kitchen with him.
"Billy Elliot" is a fine, fine film that inspires its audience to follow their dreams, and deliver it in a way that's unpretentious, down to earth, not sappy and something we can all relate to.
My score: 7 (out of 10)