**** 1/2 Don't miss this movie!

Rating: Null/10 (28 March 2001)

Those who are expecting the hilarious comedy in the vein of Four Weddings and a Funeral that is promised on the posters for this film will be severely shocked to see that they have been misled. Shocked, but by no means disappointed. Instead of the bumbling comedy this film could have been, it is instead a beautiful and poignant tale of a young man whose dreams are just too big for the town around him. Billy (an astonishingly good Jamie Bell) lives in Durham (Northern England) and one days finds himself captivated during boxing practice when a girls' ballet class finds itself sharing the same gym his team is using.
When he's accidentally invited to dance with the young ladies, he finds himself unable to suppress his desire to release all the power inside him through his newfound ability to dance extremely well. Julie Walters is excellent as the teacher who guides him through his burgeoning self-discovery, a role that showcases her on this side of the ocean than any since her starmaking role in Lewis Gilbert's Educating Rita. Gary Lewis is equally brilliant as the ex-boxing champion father, now a miner on strike, who just can't understand the new direction his son has taken him. The film is gorgeously lush, rich with real emotions and endearing characters, fantastic choreography and always manages to be touching without ever resorting to sentimental treacle. Sort of a companion to this year's Dancer In The Dark (though by no means as upsetting): that film showed how music can be the very beat of a person's heart, while here it is the liberation of dance that does the same. Don't miss it!