Billy Elliot -My Impression
BILLY ELLIOT:
My Impression of the film:
I found Billy Elliot to be a moving, uplifting, and often exuberant, drama about motherless young Billie fulfilling his dream of becoming a ballet dancer, in the process overcoming the objections and prejudices of his father and brother. This movie is both sentimental and expertly crafted.
It is also a piece of magic realism, with political overtones. By setting their near fairy tale in the context of a close-knit mining community, and more specifically against the backdrop of the 1984/5 miners' strike they were able to refer to gender and class issues, without turning their work into a political tract, and without losing focus on the central human drama.
The film is realised near flawlessly. Bell achieves a convincing blend of adolescent bewilderment and defiance; if his dancing is not quite as good as we might expect, the storyline explains this away by saying that at this early stage his attitude and drive are more important than his technique. Billie discovers a true vent for his budding creativity and especially his joy in dancing. The dancing set pieces, clearly inspired more by Fred Astaire are performed with gusto, mainly to pop songs.
There is pure gritty realism and passion into their roles of a father and son committed to their community and to the miners' cause. They make us feel their despair as they realise that this cause is lost but also their endurance as they come to terms both with Billie's aspirations and their own uncertain futures. The scenes of violence between strikers and police are presented uncompromisingly and authentically, but with the occasional touch of humour.
Julie Walters provides an outstanding performance as Mrs Wilkinson, the dancing teacher who recognises and fosters Billie's talent; and helps him resist his own and his family's inhibitions. She is perfect as the chain-smoking, straight-talking mentor, who has her own personal disappointments and hurts, which she hopes...
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