I’m a fool for dance flicks, so when I read the back cover for Billy Elliot and saw that it revolved around a ballet theme, I checked it out with my free BlockBuster ticket. Initially, I thought I might badger my boys into watching the film and give them a glimpse of a world outside this small town where dancing is most certainly not manly, but the film is rated R. The plotline is tame, but the language is rather gamey. Factoring in the heavy dialects, I thought perhaps the profanity would be indecipherable; however, my older son walked through the living room during the flick and informed me that my show had an awful lot of cussing going down.

Billy Elliot is the story of an 11-year-old kid (played by Jamie Bell) living in northern England in a coal mining town. It’s 1984, and his dad and brother are on strike along with most of the rest of the men in town (a true flash back in history). Times are hard but more so for Billy’s family, since the mother has passed and the grandmother who lives in the home is senile.

The men plot the strike and try to stay out from under the police sticks, and Billy goes to school and then on to boxing lessons. Some boys simply aren’t cut out for boxing, and Billy is one of those kids. He dances around the ring until someone punches him down. At home and on the streets, he’s a tough kid with a big heart. In the boxing ring, he’s rather perplexed. In fact, he’s much more intrigued by the ballet classes taking place on the far side of the gym. Even though the class is “girls-only” and even though Billy knows that dancing is taboo for boys at his class level, he simply can’t stop himself from slipping in and learning how to make the music in his feet translate to magic.

It’s pretty hard to keep a secret as big as blowing off boxing in favor of ballet, and Dad and brother are simply undone. Billy can’t expect much sympathy from his ball-busting teacher either. If he’s going to make it, then he’s going to have to work for it. The teacher’s worldly little daughter provides some moral support for Billy as does his buddy who is slowly coming out as gay and a cross dresser. He gay friend appears to be planted to establish and reaffirm Billy’s straightness and his ability to move beyond the narrow confines of the world he was born to.

It wouldn’t be much of a story if Billy didn’t dance well enough to be considered for a slot in the Royal Ballet School. In fact, he’s not very polished which is a big part of his appeal. He less performs than simply allows what is inside to bubble forth and claim his body. The ballet world is alien to everything Billy has ever experienced, and though he is out of his element and a bit hesitant, the “differentness” is what makes him special and appealing to the old guard.

The story is not really new, but it takes on a whole new life with the execution in this film.

Key is the casting of Jamie Bell. Bell did, in fact, take dance lessons on the sly and took the heat from local kids for loving to move to the music. When this tough little 14-year-old refuses to back down, the acting is heartfelt. When he dances, he simply does what comes natural—no awkward choreographed sequences here. It’s just raw spontaneous dance that says more about the heart of this character than any dialogue ever could. The only problem with the casting is that Billy is foisted off as an 11-year-old while Jamie is clearly older. I would also note that this is Bell’s first acting gig, and he should certainly be considered for more parts. He’s really good.

Gary Lewis as the father is superb. He must balance his beliefs on life against his love for his son. He is the blow-hard father forbidding Billy to take ballet lessons one moment and then hauling him off to the audition when he sees how good his son actually dances. He wants the best for Billy, and it’s hard to reconcile that the best from his worldview might not necessarily the best for his kid. While he imagined a second son much in the tradition of his first-born (a fellow minor), he is able to step back and see that Billy is not ever going to be someone who tosses back some beer after a hard day in the mines.

The confrontational, chain-smoking Mrs. Wilkinson played by Julie Walters does a fabulous job in tying the film together. She’s a small-town woman with a sharp tongue who knows greatness when she sees it and doesn’t allow for any excuses. When Billy says: "I feel like a sissy," the teacher retorts: "Well, don't act like one.” A softer approach wouldn’t have worked with Billy or his family, and Mrs. Wilkinson straddles that line between being supportive and pushing like heck. He’ll have to be tough if he bucks tradition, and she doesn’t cut him any slack.

The actors do make this movie shine, but the music and camera work give the flick something lacking in most movies today.

My background is technical in the movie field, and I was simply amazed at the quality of the production. Although many artsy techniques are incorporated, they don’t detract from the flow. When some collage shots are inserted, they simply move the plot along without feeling like goofy asides in an otherwise classic format. I would compare this film to American Beauty on some of the camerawork—a little surreal but in a very complimentary way.

The music works with the film rather than trying to slip in as an intrusive character hell bent on getting on your nerves (like in “I Am Sam” review at http://www.epinions.com/content_69209460356 ). British cult groups like The Jam, The Style Council and T. Rex provide a backdrop that both calls out to be heard while seeming to rest firmly in the background. Though I tend to listen to older music, I was impressed enough with the music in this video to seek out the bands featured here.

The only real flaw in this movie is the delivery in dialect. While I realize that the heavy and misplaced vowels may be reflective of the area and culture, it’s almost impossible to make out everything said in this movie. “Wadafock,” may be translatable, but many of the lines simply evaporated in a sea of fast interaction. The film is available on DVD with subtitles, but I prefer to watch rather than read movies. If I’m going to read, I’ll buy a book.

My background is Virginia mountains (coal mining country), and I would never dream of foisting off a language that is almost incomprehensible to the general viewing public. It would be quite possible to incorporate some of the verbal variances to get the point across without garbling a solid screen play with a borderline foreign flick flavor only ear-friendly to a very small subgroup of the population. Yes. I could follow the film but with great effort and with several questions about what was said. Given that I have a good ear for dialect, I see this as a very serious problem that will put off many potential viewers who would otherwise love the movie.

Though the film is hard on the ears, it’s exceptional enough to be worth the effort to absorb. The power of the personalities, footage (and editing) along with the music force me to go five stars even though I wish they toned down the “blowdayfocking” dialect.



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older