Great small film that couldn't live up to the hype.

Rating: 7/10 (7 November 2000)

I felt really bad for not loving Billy Elliot. I usually love small films like this, but there was so much hype in the media, that it just couldn't live up to it. The earnest Billy and his desire to dance... and his macho father and brother are too easily convinced to stand behind his convictions. But set in the 80s mining strikes of England, the themes of working class vs. upper class, and following your dreams all did make the film very interesting, but just not as great as I'd been lead to believe.