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Billy Elliot

Movie Billy Elliot Director Stephen Daldry Producer John Finn Cinematographer na Music na

By Ad-Lib When you think of movies that are made in the Isles, you’d normally think of ‘The Full Monty.’ Well just as that was a real laugh riot, ‘Billy Elliot’ is a masterpiece in human drama. ‘Billy Elliot’ is the story of a child following his passion for ballet in a coal-mining town in England. The emotional struggles and the odds as well as the stigma attached to the art form, which Billy has to overcome form the crux of this very moving film. To get an apt mental picture of Billy’s hometown, picture the dreary English atmosphere and remember faint lighting and no sun, preferably a permanent drizzle!! The Story is about 11-year old Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell who is a dancer in real life) . Billy’s family consists of his father Jackie (Gary Lewis) and older brother Tony (Jamie Draven) . The family is suffering under effects of a violent strike that cripples the entire town. After the death of his mother, Billy has the responsibility of taking care of his grandmother. Needless to say that poverty and a senile grandmother means that Billy decides to get out of the house to divert his mind from the pressures. Jackie enrolls Billy in Boxing classes but it turns out to be a nightmare for Billy. At the gym however Billy notices the girls at their ballet classes and from then on he finds that his true calling is Ballet. The story then follows that Billy has to face insurmountable odds as far as his family goes. As his father considers Ballet a “girly” art form and since Billy has decided make his life revolve around it, the emotional battles and trauma of losing favour with his parents follow but only to eventually win it back. At this point I have to say that Billy Elliot is a masterpiece. One can tell that Director Stephen Daldry took great pains not to make this movie seem like a “movie” but has projected the story on a very lifelike canvas. As a child you will identify with the contradictions of your aspirations and those of who brought you up. As a parent you feel that your aspirations for you child are the best. This conflict is brought out with all the right emotions in the right quotient. I vote that this movie has the most sensible script that I have seen and that I will see this year. It will bring tears to your eyes. Should you have seen the clips on TV you would have had tears in your eyes. Go see it….No! Go see it twice!! This movie teaches a valuable lesson about your dreams and how to follow them.