Iâm not a huge fan of musicals. I, for one, donât like Grease or High School Musical. But this is different. It is a musical, but it didnât feel like one. Billy Elliot was an outstanding film for me. Brilliant acting, excellent music, an outstanding plot and a very good vibe meant I loved this movie. Itâs one of my favourite films Iâve seen, and its better than half the junk that comes out these daysâ¦
Taking place during the 1984 Minerâs Strike, eleven year old Billy Elliot is living with his hard dad and brother and his grandma. His mother also died some time ago as well. His dad forces him to do boxing, which he isnât spectacular at. His lessons are brutal and he doesnât enjoy it. When his teacher makes him stay behind one lesson, he notices some girls doing ballet, which stirs up his love for ballet. When his dad and brother find out that he is doing ballet, they arenât too happy as theyâre hard nuts and their relative is doing a sport like ballet, which to them is for girls. So now, with the help of the ballet teacher Mrs. Wilkinson, Billy trains secretly with her. Eventually, he gets an offer for an audition at the royal ballet school.
I actually really loved the plot. Yeah, itâs simple, a boy does a girl sport and his hard parent doesnât approve of it, and now the boy must try to do the sport while the parent is against it. But the thing that really appealed to me is the whole point of the plot. This is trying to prove that sports can be done by any person of any gender. It proves that you shouldnât be sexist about sports. The ending is predictable (everyone is happy), but who cares? Itâs a feel good movie, so if the ending is bad then what is the point?
Jamie Bell plays Billy Elliot. This film was done seven years ago, and Bell looks much younger here. Itâs nice to see him younger here. Anyways, he does a brilliant job as the outsider with a short fuse, as if anyone got on his grapes, his face either looked very angry or he dropped the F bomb. Or he punched someone. Anyways, I really liked his character as he was trying to do something different, even if his parent disapproves of it. I also felt slightly sorry for him. For one, his mother died which is painful for him. Plus, the fact that his father and brother are being nasty to him just because he likes Ballet made me feel sorry for him.
Billy Elliotâs three relatives are played by Jean Haywood (grandma), Gary Lewis (dad) and George Watson (the brother). Letâs start with the father, played by Gary Lewis. He plays the abusive miner, who doesnât approve of Billyâs love for ballet. He is slightly dislikeable, simply because of what he does to Billy. Still, you may like him a bit and Gary Lewis does a fantastic job of being the miner.
The brother, played by George Watson, is great too. He isnât as involved in the movie as the father, but heâs likeable. My favourite scene with him was when he was running from the riot squad and just going through random houses, which is a bit ridiculous but cool. Watson did a great job acting as well.
The grandma was played by Jean Haywood, and she was also great. The grandma, like the brother, isnât as involved in the film, but she is still great. She doesnât talk too much, as sheâs one of those slightly quiet grandmas (but who wouldnât be if you were in the middle of a strike) but when she speaks, she was outstanding. You like her character, and Jean did a great job of acting.
But one of the really outstanding characters was the teacher, played by Julie Walters, who was also brilliant. The teacher is rather adult, as she actually swears in front of her daughter, who is about the same age as Billy. She also shouts a bit to her students, which is like an army commando. Thereâs also some nice chemistry between her and Billy. It might be minor things, like when she reads letters to him from Billyâs mother. Or serious things, like Billy asking her if she fancies her. There are also some funny moments from their arguments. Like I said before, Walters did an outstanding job of acting. She certainly gave it her all, and was a perfect cast as she suits the role.
One thing I was worried about is that the dancing itself wouldnât be good at all. Boy I was wrong. The dancing is perfectly shot, and the people who said how they should do it were perfect. It looked like proper ballet. Obviously itâs not too hard to nail something like this, but still if they messed it up it would ruin the film. And one thing I liked is that Billy did screw up a couple of times and the way he fell down or the way he reacted was great.
The music is also outstanding. Like the ballet, if they screwed up the music it would have instantly screwed up the film. Luckily itâs not meant to be. The soundtrack is a mix of licensed songs, feel good instrumentals and some brilliant orchestral scores. It is an odd mix, but they all seem to mesh together. This is a British film, so there are lots of British artists here. The feel good instrumentals fit the vibe of the film, and the orchestral score was brilliant.
Obviously I love action films. Die Hard, Speed, The Fast and the Furious-I could go on forever and list all the action films that are high rated. But I donât mind other types of films. This I actually really enjoyed, I would recommend it to anyone whoâs looking for a feel good film. It has excellent acting, brilliant music and great dancing. So go buy this now or watch it on TV or something.