 |
Video Review |
 |
|
|
Video Review |
|
Last Updated 10/09/03
Email: robitai@our-town.com
Marilyn
Robitaille
Billy Elliot
If the big summer blockbuster movies have left you exhausted, here’s a mild-mannered video suggestion that’s energetic sans explosions: “Billy Elliot.” I’m listening to the movie’s soundtrack right now, which I rushed right out and bought after I saw the movie, and it always makes me feel like dancing.
For good reason. This British-made film tells the story of an unlikely eleven-year-old dancer named Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell). Billy lives in a dreary mining town in Northern England. The town’s in the midst of an economic crisis because the miners are on strike, and everybody has that hopeless slump to their shoulders, Billy’s father Jackie (Gary Lewis) included.
To make matters worse, it’s clear that son Billy has a penchant for dancing, not football. When his father put him in boxing lessons, Billy found his sister’s ballet lessons more interesting. Recognizing Billy’s talent and his insatiable desire to dance, the dance teacher Mrs. Wilkinson (Julie Walters) secretly gives Billy lessons.
As the situation at home worsens, and his father’s close-minded attitude becomes even more iron-clad, Billy’s determination to dance in spite of it all brings the conflict to a head. When Mrs. Wilkinson manages to get Billy an audition with the Royal Ballet School in London, it’s clear that their secret will have to be revealed.
The movie’s suspense turns on whether or not Billy’s father will at last recognize his son’s passion in spite of his own failures. In addition, there’s the outcome of the audition to worry about. You’ll find yourself pulling for the gangly kid because he deserves a chance to follow his dreams. After all, the Royal Ballet School will be his ticket out of the mines and that depressing town.
Chemistry abounds among the cast of actors. Julie Walters brings dash and wit to her role with just enough vinegar to make confrontations with Billy’s father interesting. Gary Lewis faces the difficult challenge of being gruffly toadish on the one hand, while making it clear that he loves his son on the other. The real star, of course, is Jamie Bell. His energy electrifies every scene that he’s in. This is good dancing, even in the rough-cut days before Mrs. Wilkinson perfects his step-ball-change.
I haven’t thought about dance lessons in a long time, but this movie always makes me wonder what I did with my tap shoes.
Rated PG-13 for some thematic
material
Soundtrack includes 18 tracks
and a CD-ROM of the film’s trailer
Index to Previous Articles
This site has been visited times.