Billy Elliot

Proving once and for all — if it still needs to be said! — that it is not just via football, rugby or other rugged sports that a lad can find his way to manhood, Billy Elliot tells the poignant and often hilarious story of a young boy who, despite family prejudice, finds himself more comfortable in ballet slippers than boxing gloves. The film is set in a northern English coal-mining town in the midst of the violent miners’ strike of 1984. Jamie Bell gives a genuine, touching performance as Billy, who must leap through political, financial and emotional fires in pursuit of his passion. Julie Walters is Mrs. Wilkins, the ballet teacher who guides Billy from awkwardness to grace. Sure to inspire ballerinas and footballers alike, this heart-warming hit was stage director Stephen Daldry’s first feature; he has gone on to direct The Hours and The Reader for the screen as well as Billy Elliot the Musical, a major success on the London and New York stages. “What makes Billy Elliot so refreshing is the warmly compassionate view of its characters, even the most unlikely of which undertake an emotional journey that steers them through conflict and animosity, ultimately to embrace the cause of the pirouetting underdog hero” (David Rooney, Variety). Colour, 35mm, 110 mins.