Billy Elliot (2001)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jim H

  
  A young boy defies his father and takes ballet classes during a a mining strike. On its surface this is a charming film, but there are quite a few gritty, dramatic scenes, at the heart of which is Gary Lewis whose stern demeanor and rough exterior make Dad the heart of much of the… More
  A young boy defies his father and takes ballet classes during a a mining strike. On its surface this is a charming film, but there are quite a few gritty, dramatic scenes, at the heart of which is Gary Lewis whose stern demeanor and rough exterior make Dad the heart of much of the film's conflict. Julie Walters's turn as a tough, chain smoking dance instructor isn't the stuff Disney films are made of. I liked the film, enjoying the dance sequences and the aforementioned performances, but I wondered about why the film needed to include uncertainty about Billy's sexuality. it seems natural that ignorant characters would automatically equate ballet with being a "poof," but I didn't see any motivation for Billy to internalize these criticisms. Overall, <i>Billy Elliot</i> is a good film that is darker and more dramatic than first meets the eye.

• Joseph M

  
  A Beautiful, emotional, Charming yet Brutal Film about a young son of a poor English Coal Miner who Swaps His Gloves to Shoes and dreams of becoming a professional Ballet Dancer. With some Brilliant Performances (one which Started "Jamie Bell's career as one of the finest… More
  A Beautiful, emotional, Charming yet Brutal Film about a young son of a poor English Coal Miner who Swaps His Gloves to Shoes and dreams of becoming a professional Ballet Dancer. With some Brilliant Performances (one which Started "Jamie Bell's career as one of the finest Young actors in the wold, and an Oscar Nominated Performance for "Julie Walters"), and a Captivating Plot, "Billy Elliot" is one of the finest British Films in years and one of my Favorite as well. A Magnificent British Coming Of age Drama..

• John H

  
  The opening credit sequence backed with "Cosmic Dancer" was the only thing that grabbed my attention the whole movie.

• Sophie B

  
  An inspiring and uplifting tale of a poor boy using his talent to the full to secure himself a better life than his parents. Jamie Bell does great for himself in this.

• Bethany M

  
  A classic!

• Morgan S

  
  A great movie, I really want to see the musical, The music is absolutely FANTASTIC! If you havent heard it, I strongly reccoment buying it. It really is amazing. The performances in this movie were very well done. Especially Julie Walters, she is soo funny!! Jamie Bell and Gary Lewis… More
  A great movie, I really want to see the musical, The music is absolutely FANTASTIC! If you havent heard it, I strongly reccoment buying it. It really is amazing. The performances in this movie were very well done. Especially Julie Walters, she is soo funny!! Jamie Bell and Gary Lewis are spot on. Great movie, Watch it!

• ♥˩ƳИИ &

  
  Cast: Jamie Bell, Jean Heywood, Jamie Draven, Gary Lewis, Julie Walters, Stuart Wells, Mike Elliott, Billy Fane, Nicola Blackwell, Carol McGuigan, Joe Renton, Colin MacLachlan, Janine Birkett, Trevor Fox, Charlie Hardwick Director: Stephen Daldry When 11-year-old Billy Elliot… More
  Cast: Jamie Bell, Jean Heywood, Jamie Draven, Gary Lewis, Julie Walters, Stuart Wells, Mike Elliott, Billy Fane, Nicola Blackwell, Carol McGuigan, Joe Renton, Colin MacLachlan, Janine Birkett, Trevor Fox, Charlie Hardwick Director: Stephen Daldry When 11-year-old Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell) trades boxing school for ballet lessons, his father (Gary Lewis) -- a hardworking miner from Northern England who despises the idea of his son running around in toe shoes -- is less than pleased. But when the boy wins an audition for the Royal Ballet School, he experiences a change of heart. An Oscar-nominated drama that spawned a Tony-winning Broadway musical of the same name. My Thoughts: "I loved it! It's a funny, emotional, feel-good movie. I can't believe I waited so long to see it. I am fan of Jamie Bell, and I am completely impressed by him in this film. He was fantastic as Billy Elliot. Such a great talent at such an young age. I loved the father. Gary Lewis was great. He that hard exterior but a gentle interior which made his character funny and honest. Great cast. Loved Julie Walters in this film. Haven't seen her in many, but I loved her characters sassy attitude. I laughed, I cried, and in the end, this is now a definite favorite. A great film that I think all the family could enjoy."

• Coxxie M

  
  oh i remember kinda... this was when i was 10 and i realized that some people dont know theyre gay yet... that was Billy Elliot.

• erika b

  
  dumb

• Red L

  
  Billy comes from a manly town who are in the middle of a manly strike... And Billy wants to be a ballet dancer. How much fun can we have with that? The movie was OK, but personally I didn't think much of Billy's dancing.

• Randy T

  
  Charming and VERY funny. The story of a boy who struggles to be his own man, even if it means sneaking off to join a girls ballet class.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"Inside every one of us is a special talent waiting to come out. The trick is finding it."</i> A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"Inside every one of us is a special talent waiting to come out. The trick is finding it."</i> A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> The much lauded and nominated film "Billy Elliott" is a slice of life flick about an 11 year old English boy who, to the dismay of his motherless working class coal mining family, chooses ballet over boxing as a pastime. The film is technically excellent, artistically well done, and follows the traditions of Hollywood film-making. The story is a pleasant mix of humor and pathos, not too deep, and palatable enough to make it an audience favorite. In addition to being just plain fun to watch, "Billy Elliot" makes a few points about accepting people for who they are; about the undeniability of innate passion by artists; and about the sublimation of aggression through dance. Kudos to the choreographer and Bell for some fun to watch and never seen before kookie, kid-like mixes of jazz, tap, ballet, and jigs.

• Anthony L

  
  Jamie Bell is really good but he's the only reason to watch, it?s very overrated and a bit of an unfair portrayal of our friends up North. Oh, and the Middlesboro transporter bridge is in Middlesboro, not Newcastle!

• Derek D

  
  What most people remember the most about this film is when Tony starts reading Billy the riot act about dancing, then Billy starts getting pissed and releases his anger by dancing all around the neighborhood to The Jam's "Town Called Malice". Or...maybe when Sean Hayes… More
  What most people remember the most about this film is when Tony starts reading Billy the riot act about dancing, then Billy starts getting pissed and releases his anger by dancing all around the neighborhood to The Jam's "Town Called Malice". Or...maybe when Sean Hayes danced around the SNL studio in the same matter? Either way, the movie is about a boy who, after getting floored one too many times in the boxing ring, decides to give ballet dancing a try and ends up liking it enough to start studying seriously. It's also about a family trying to cope with the son's fascination with dancing and a miner's strike. A great movie, though not a family film since the language tends to stay a bit rough throughout.

• Thomas B

  
  brilliant film. the original dance movie, only so much better than the crap they dish out these days

• Jennifer X

  
  A moderately inspirational movie even though the ending was unnecessary and the Swan Lake costumes freaked me out a little bit. The kid is cute but not too cute and it explores the sexual dynamics of what undertaking such a hobby can result in. Nevertheless I'm not a huge fan of… More
  A moderately inspirational movie even though the ending was unnecessary and the Swan Lake costumes freaked me out a little bit. The kid is cute but not too cute and it explores the sexual dynamics of what undertaking such a hobby can result in. Nevertheless I'm not a huge fan of Stephen Daldry's direction and I wouldn't have approached the mining strike with such dramatized violence (even though that's probably what really happened, come on...it's a kid's movie).

• Tim S

  
  Better than I thought. And I thought it was gonna blow.

• Aaron N

  
  NCB Official: Can you tell us why you first became interested in ballet? Billy: Don't know. [pauses] Billy: Just was. NCB Official: Well was there any particular aspect of the ballet which caught your imagination? Billy: The dancin'. A young boy in the midst of his boxing… More
  NCB Official: Can you tell us why you first became interested in ballet? Billy: Don't know. [pauses] Billy: Just was. NCB Official: Well was there any particular aspect of the ballet which caught your imagination? Billy: The dancin'. A young boy in the midst of his boxing lessons stumbles over to the other half of the gym, where ballet lessons are going on. Out of curiosity he decides to try it out and to his surprise, he enjoys it. This boy is Billy Elliot, played very well by Jamie Bell. He lives in a fictional mining town in England. The town is going through a strike currently, which includes his father and older brother standing at picket lines and spitting at scabs pushing back at the police. At home, Billy lives with these two and his grandmother. His own mother has passed away. Of course, Billy has to hide his new found joy for ballet from everyone, except for his best friend Michael who has a secret of his own. While in class, he gets better and better thanks to his teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson, played by Julie Walters, and eventually gets the chance to change everything by having an audition to go to a fancy dancing school in London. This movie works for a number of reasons. The characters all work very well, particularly Jaime Bell, Julie Walters, and Gary Lewis who plays Billy's dad and goes through a couple of scenes that work really well to show the conflicting situation of whether to support Billy. The soundtrack is very good, using a lot of English classic rock bands like The Clash and The Jam. This works well with a number of visual and dance driven scenes. Visually, this is a lot of fun, with a couple of neat things going on involving the strike, the police, and the placement of certain elements in the backdrops of particular scene. It also helps that even though this film is basically a fantasy, it is treated like a drama in reality, which includes characters talking like real people, which means they curse a lot. This is a good movie, with a good lead that knows how to dance. Mrs. Wilkinson: This'll sound strange, Billy, but for some time now I've been thinkin' of the Royal Ballet School. Billy: Aren't you a bit old, miss? Mrs. Wilkinson: No, not me... you! I'm the bloody teacher!

• Dean !

  
  A great British film as a boy from a rural mining town discovers a talent for dancing. He opts for that over boxing but what will his family living a tough life think of it? A real feel good film with some funny moments.

• Dean M

  
  One of the best British films I ever like. Absolutely emotional story of young Billy who prepers ballet to boxing that he keeps his ambition a secret from his family.

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