| Billy Elliot | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Stephen Daldry |
| Produced by | Greg Brenman Jon Finn |
| Written by | Lee Hall |
| Starring | Jamie Bell Julie Walters Gary Lewis Jamie Draven |
| Music by | Stephen Warbeck |
| Cinematography | Brian Tufano |
| Editing by | John Wilson |
| Studio | BBC Films Tiger Aspect Pictures StudioCanal WT2 Productions |
| Distributed by | Universal Focus |
| Release date(s) | September 29, 2000 |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £3 million ($5 million) |
| Box office | £72,853,509 ($109,280,263) |
Billy Elliot is a 2000 British drama film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Set in northern England, it stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, an aspiring dancer, Gary Lewis as his coal miner father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older brother, and Julie Walters as his ballet teacher. In 2001, author Melvin Burgess was commissioned to write the novelisation of the film based on Lee Hall's screenplay. The story was adapted for the West End stage as Billy Elliot the Musical in 2005; it opened in Australia in 2007 and on Broadway in 2008.
When the film was released in the United States, the Motion Picture Association of America gave it an R rating due to "language". When released on video, it was re-cut to a PG-13 rating for "some thematic elements"; this version edited out many uses of profanity.
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The film is set during the 1984–1985 UK miners' strike, and centres on the character of 11-year-old Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell), his love of dance and his hope to become a professional ballet dancer. Billy lives with his widowed father Jackie (Gary Lewis), older brother Tony (Jamie Draven), and his invalid Nan (Jean Heywood), who once aspired to be a professional dancer in Durham. Both Jackie and Tony are coal miners out on strike.
Jackie takes Billy to the Sports Centre to learn boxing like his father's dad, but Billy struggles and dislikes the sport. He then happens upon a ballet class that is using the gym while their usual basement studio in the Sports Centre is temporarily being used as a soup kitchen for the striking miners. Unknown to Billy's father, he joins the ballet class. When Jackie discovers this after the boxing coach mentions Billy's absence, he forbids Billy to take any more ballet. But, passionate about dancing, Billy secretly continues his lessons with his dance teacher Sandra Wilkinson's (Julie Walters) help.
Mrs. Wilkinson believes Billy is talented enough to study at the Royal Ballet School in London, but due to Tony's arrest during a skirmish between police and striking miners, Billy misses the audition. Mrs. Wilkinson goes to Billy's house to tell Jackie about the missed opportunity. Jackie and Tony, fearing that Billy will be considered a "poof", are outraged at the prospect of him becoming a professional ballet dancer.
Over Christmas, Billy's best friend, Michael, kisses him on the cheek. Although Billy is not necessarily gay, he is supportive of his friend. Later, Jackie sees Billy dancing in the gym and realises his son is truly gifted, and he will do whatever it takes to help Billy realise his dream. Jackie attempts to cross the picket line to pay for Billy's training, but is blocked by Tony. Instead, his fellow miners and the neighbourhood raise money for Billy, and Jackie takes him to London to audition for the Royal Ballet School. Though highly nervous, Billy performs well, but after he punches another boy in an unprovoked attack at the audition, he is sternly rebuked by the review board. However, as a final question, they ask him what it feels like when he's dancing, to which Billy responds, "like electricity." Billy returns home with his father. Sometime later, he receives a letter accepting him to the Royal Ballet School, and he leaves his family to go there.
The film's final scene is set fourteen years later (approximately 1999), when Billy has finally attained his goal: the mature Billy (dancer/actor Adam Cooper) takes the stage to perform the lead in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, as Jackie, Tony, and Michael watch in the audience.
Street scenes were filmed in Easington, County Durham, a former mining village.[1] As Easington Colliery closed in 1993[2] the mining scenes were filmed at the Ellington and Lynemouth colliery in Northumberland,[1] with some filming in Dawdon and Newcastle upon Tyne.[1] The producers used over 400 Easington people as extras.[1]
In 2004, the magazine Total Film named Billy Elliot the 39th greatest British film of all time.
The soundtrack was released on 11 March 2002, and includes several well-known rock and punk songs. The soundtrack also contains pieces of dialogue from the film.[3]
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