‘I don’t want a childhood. I want to be a ballet dancer...’
Before this second viewing I had seen Billy Elliot once and so long ago to render that viewing almost irrelevant. I’d forgotten how funny this film is. How gritty it is. How incredible Jamie Bell’s performance really is. Billy Elliot really is a classic of British cinema. Let’s examine why…
Set against the backdrop of the miner’s strike in Durham in 1984, Billy Elliot is the story of… well… Billy Elliot (Bell), and his journey from terrible boxer to life affirming ballet dancer. When Billy accidentally joins Mrs. Wilkinson’s (Julie Walters) dance class one fateful afternoon, he is instantly hooked – much to the chagrin of his gruff working class father (Gary Lewis) and his angry older brother Tony (Jamie Draven).
So, yeah, the dancing scenes are uplifting and the soundtrack is great and the whole thing is like being wrapped in a warm hug, but there is so much more at play here. The constant presence of the strike is handled sensitively and in a way that is both poignant and powerful. Bell and Walters took all the plaudits, but honestly, this film would be nothing without Lewis and Draven as Elliot’s reluctant and downtrodden family. It is the scenes that the Elliot family share that really see this film come alive. Not forgetting, of course, the late Jean Heywood and her wonderful performance as Billy’s grandma.
Director Stephen Daldry, making his directorial debut, does a great job in adapting Lee Hall’s emotive script, and the whole thing has a lightning-in-a-bottle feel that brings to mind other classics of British cinema such as Trainspotting, The Full Monty and Kes. This is hallowed company, but it is also undeniable. Billy Elliot is a classic of British cinema.