Billy Elliot

Billy Elliot, directed by Stephen Daldry, is a film set in North East England Country Durham, in the coal mining town of Evington. The date is 1984 in the midst of the long running miners strike. Billy Elliot, played by Jamie Bell, is an 11 year old boy who wants to do ballet, but his father was very much against this - “Boys do boxing, not Ballet.” Billy has to sneak around his father to have his ballet lessons and fulfil his dream.

A scene which had an impact on me was the scene when Billy’s father Jacky changed his mind about Billy dancing. It was Christmas and Jacky and his friend had been at the pub when they saw lights on in the gym and saw Michael and Billy dancing. Billy began his dance of defiance, performing an amazing sequence of dance steps while his father watches- shocked. But at that point he realises that Billy has talent and that he needs to help him. This is an important scene in the film as without Jacky’s support, Billy could not have achieved his dream. I felt pleased when Jacky changed his mind because it would have been awful not to have Billy’s talent recognised.

Another scene that I didn’t like in the movie was when Billy’s dad was going to come off strike and break the picket line. He wanted to get some money to help Billy to become a dancer and get out of Evington. In this scene Billy’s dad Jacky hopped on the bus to go to the mines and all the protesters were throwing stuff at the bus. Jacky was getting nervous and switched seats because he didn’t want anyone to see him. This shows how much Jacky cares about his son. I thought it was touching that he went to the absolute limit, facing the hatred of his co-workers to help his son to become a dancer.

I liked how Billy dealt with his anger in the movie. I felt the way he dealt with it was very mature. There was a scene in the movie when Billy became really angry with his dad and brother because they were yelling at him about wanting to become a ballet dancer. Once they were finished arguing with him, Billy became very angry and got up and ran out of the kitchen. Billy starting running and dancing down the street. He went very far and he stopped when he hit a big brick wall. When he turned around from the wall it was Christmas Eve and his friend Michael was there with him. I also liked how that was done how they used the dancing scene for a time traveling to fast forward the movie a bit. It showed how Billy had grown in his dancing and how his family had begun to change their attitudes about Billy’s dancing over time.

I also really enjoyed the music in the film. The song “I love to boogie” by T-Rex was a happy song that the director used to show a happy time when Billy was learning to dance as he wanted. The director also used the song to show time passing and how Billy and the dance teacher grew closer over this time.

The film is set in the North East of England during the miners strikes in the early eighties. The director uses this setting to show the dullness and darkness of Billy’s life before learning to dance. By learning to dance Billy breaks out of the darkness and into the bright clean world of the dance academy and his new life as a dancer.

Overall, I enjoyed the film Billy Elliot, directed by Stephen Daldry. I really enjoyed Billy’s journey from the small coal mining town of Evington to the stage in London to perform as the lead dancer in a ballet production. The director used setting and music to good effect to show this journey and the themes of being yourself and working hard to achieve your dreams.

By T. Elwin-Pepperell