Billy Elliot

Universal Focus | Release Date: October 13, 2000

7.4	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 134 Ratings

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User Reviews

User score By date Most helpful

heyitsmegrif4Feb 8, 2012

Fantastically acted, wonderfully entertaining, funny and just sad enough to make it heartwarming enough to make it one of my favorite movies. I give this movie a great 92%.

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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joseap84Nov 24, 2011

"Billy Elliot" as another reviewer already said, improves with each watching. Jamie Bell gives a performance of a lifetime. Julie Walters does a terrific job as well. Excellent movie.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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J-ShapAug 25, 2011

"A young boy in a poor mining community in Northern England, wants to learn ballet, to which he seems a natural at, despite his disapproving father who feels that ballet is un-manly." Now, doesn't that sound like the hokiest premise ever?"A young boy in a poor mining community in Northern England, wants to learn ballet, to which he seems a natural at, despite his disapproving father who feels that ballet is un-manly." Now, doesn't that sound like the hokiest premise ever? But, you'd be surprised.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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sanyrubApr 20, 2015

Beautiful, uplifting, warm, emotive. Many positive adjectives for a film that is aging just right. The story is compelling and different from what we are used to. Of course the big star and what makes the film a total winner is the childBeautiful, uplifting, warm, emotive. Many positive adjectives for a film that is aging just right. The story is compelling and different from what we are used to. Of course the big star and what makes the film a total winner is the child actor (and adult actor nowadays, not with that much shine compared to this role in his younger years). Impressive acting by him, especially the dancing scenes. The supporting cast could have been better, although his teacher is a great character and the actress too. Great soundtrack too.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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annbdJan 16, 2019

Cried along with the boy and his family. Movies that recreate real emotions and try to make them as close as possible to the movie, are always worth watching. Suffering, loving - that's a durable platform to step on.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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CorinnaW.Jan 3, 2007

Really beautiful film. Bell and Waters are simply superb.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

SeanJan 22, 2006

great story, great dancing. although not as good as the musical in London

0 of 0 users found this helpful

alejandro970Apr 7, 2019

No one on earth can deny the high quality of dramedy of the tiny dancer who reach his dreams despite the opposition of his father. Even the OST has own charm. For watch over and over.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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DawdlingPoetNov 20, 2021

The plot pace is quite fast, in as much as Billys clear interest in dancing and choreography via ballet is brought to light within the first twenty minutes. The film is set in the economically bleak period of the 1984 miners strike, a harshThe plot pace is quite fast, in as much as Billys clear interest in dancing and choreography via ballet is brought to light within the first twenty minutes. The film is set in the economically bleak period of the 1984 miners strike, a harsh time for the north of England, where this film is set. Thematically this film covers gender stereotypes, cross dressing and other taboos, or what certainly were at the time, plus the social class system perhaps. More symbolically perhaps, this film deals with determination, (self) identity and expression. Although I was familiar with the main story, I found there to be a few plot twists that I wasn't aware of and which (thus) took me by surprise. I thought its quite a good film from a 'beating the odds' sort of perspective, although no doubt for some it'll seem a bit too obvious and/or sentimental, which I guess comes down to your personal taste in films and the like.

The film features an eclectic soundtrack, consisting of both 1970s and 1980s chart hits, including T. Rex 'I Love To Boogie' and 'Children Of The Revolution', 'London Calling' by The Clash and 'Town Called Malice' by The Jam. There also numerous classical orchestral pieces. I liked the fact that the tracks were quite uplifting and optimistic in tone, compared to the bleak setting, as both the local community are clearly in turmoil but moreso the Elliot family in general struggling to get through, having to attempt to move on from Billys mothers tragic passing. I felt there was an uplifting element to it.

It may seem (the film in general, this is not strictly referring to the soundtrack) perhaps a little simplistic but I felt the balance between optimism and pessimism, the mix of good and bad did seem believably realistic. It had a bit of a 'Hollywood' feel to it, (particularly at the end I suppose) in as much as it being the tale of an underdog wanting to succeed in being allowed to express himself in the way he feels most comfortable and to heck with how others judge him but I did feel that the way the the local community and perhaps more importantly his closest family members, reacted to his new found 'hobby', seemed fairly plausible to me anyway.

I found myself feeling quite concerned for the various characters, due to their bleak circumstances. Some scenes are quite emotional and I must say that the cast did a stellar job in giving very powerful performances, most noteably of course Jamie Bell, who plays the title character Billy, Julie Walters, who plays the ballet/dance teacher (both of which won numerous awards for their roles) and Gary Lewis, who plays Billys dad. Billys dads response in certain scenes and at certain points I found to be quite touching and I felt that overall the film was both entertaining and engrossing. Some scenes are quite tense and I felt keen throughout to find out what the outcome would be. Its not an especially long film, which is always a plus side in my book, with it having a running time of approximately 1 hour 45 minutes.

Content wise, there is strong language and moderate violence present in this film, plus sex references and partial nudity but nothing too graphic. Yes, I'd recommend this film. It features some poignant dialogue with some very tense and emotional scenes, a good soundtrack, memorable performances and covering a number of important social themes/issues.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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