Billy Elliot (plus Billy Elliot Boy Documentary) [2000] [VHS]

Set in the north east of England during the British miners strike of 1984-5 Director Stephen Daldry perfectly captures the darkest period of British social history and the poverty suffering and devastation that it brought to so many communities in this extremely heartwarming and uplifting movie. The miners strike was the period in Britain's history when Margaret Thatcher literally starved the coal miners, who were striking to save their jobs, back to work. It literally turned neighbours against one another, brought enormous economic hardship to families and destroyed communities. And when it was all over they closed all the pits anyway and all hope was stolen from the working classes, perhaps never to be restored again.

Billy Elliot is a very good movie but I have one objection with it and all the other 'gritty' British movies and that is the way the working classes are always portrayed. On the basis of Brassed Off, The Full Monty, Little Voice etc., Americans must really pity us poor British in our squalid terraced council houses and working men's clubs, cigarette permanently in one hand, beer permanently in the other, with our conversations littered with obscenities, even when speaking to kids. The reality is somewhat different and it worries me that a stereotype may begin to develop here. I, and all of my friends come from a working class background and many of the people I knew at school had fathers working in the mines. However, none of them came from a family where obscenities, cigarettes and alcohol were the norm. Certainly there is an element of society that lives like that but from my experience they tend to be the never worked, never want to work lowest of the low, who would never fight to keep a job or bring up a family. (Excuse me whilst I get off my soap box)!

Ultimately however, this is a film with a lot of charm, a lot of humour, a lot of heart and great acting performances all round (but particularly from Gary Lewis, Julie Walters and the excellent newcomer Jamie Bell as the title character). The movie is full of fine moments including Billy and his teacher performing a powerhouse dance routine to I Love to Boogie by T Rex, or when Mrs Wilkinson's daughter Debbie idly bangs a stick along the row of policemen's perspex riot shields, whilst sauntering down the street and Billy's dance of rage when his father forbids him from dancing again.

Stephen Daldry's direction and the screenplay by Lee Hall are both excellent and it is to their credit that they deal with the question of Billy's nascent sexuality, avoiding vulgarity and judgement. Billy Elliot is not a stereotypical male ballet dancer but the question of his sexuality is left open to question and to their credit the filmmakers have avoided the obvious temptation to reassure the audience that the young boy is straight, because it is irrelevant to the triumph against the odds story. Slightly confusing however, is the use of T rex throughout the soundtrack and other obvious references to the seventies, such as the sight of a Spacehopper and the game Ker-Plunk. 1984/5 was more the time of Wham, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Duran Duran and the Spacehopper and fallen from fashion some ten years earlier (although now making a return apparently). However, any criticisms are mere details for Billy Elliot is that annual rarity, a really good British movie, that both inspires and entertains in equal volumes. Highly recommended!

Luckily though, this film goes beyond those levels and into ones which are only reached by the best of the best. The acting is fantastic and Jamie Bell deserves all the credit he is getting for his superb performance.

The storyline has two themes, the famous boxer come ballerina one and the picket-mining aspect which help you follow the whole family in their personal and financial problems whilst raising Billy. Billy wants to be a ballerina but his Dad and brother refuse the idea as they have been brought up with boxing and coal mining. Billy is helped through in an emotional but hilarious story, by his dance teacher played brilliantly by Julie Walters.

This is a must-see film and go more then once so you can digest all sides of the story and for two hours watch a little boy become a star.