Enjoy the magic of Billy Elliot

Rating: Null/10 (28 September 2000)

I attended the UK premiere and aftershow party of Billy Elliot last night.
What a fantastic, uplifting experience. This film not only restores your faith in the British film industry it makes you realise why you fell in love with movies in the first place. A winning screenplay by Lee Hall is beautifully handled by Stephen Daltry while the performances are just amazing.
Julie Walters & Gary Lewis both deserve Oscar nominations for their utterly convincing, heartbreaking work.
I know this film will be criticised in some quarters but I can only imagine people who have hearts of stone not enjoying this delightful, funny, moving, poetic and (completely) BRITISH movie!
The biggest praise, however, has to be reserved for Jamie Bell who is outstanding as Billy. At the end of the premiere last night 900 people gave him a standing ovation. I was lucky enough to meet him at the party following and found him to be a charming, polite young man who just happens to be an extraordinary actor and dancer and who just happens to have given the best performance on screen this year.
Jamie may only be 14 yrs old but he has the screen presence and charisma to carry this film and carry it he does,quite magnificently. Oscar nomination for Best Actor?? There's going to have to be five particularly brilliant performances between now and Christmas to deprive this new talent of a place at the Shrine Auditorium March 2001.
Go see this film and enjoy the magic of Billy Elliot.
10/10