'The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow.' Fat chance. Look ahead! Where's your confidence ? Come on. And one, and two, and three, and four, five- And hold. And one, and two, and three, and four, and five, six, seven, eight. Wilkinson and her dance class when you've finished. You're not goin' until you do it properly.
* Ho ! Liberace, will you give it a rest ? Billy, punch bag. Billy, hit him ! Jesus Christ, Billy Elliot! You're a disgrace to them gloves, your father. What're you doin', man ? Hit him ! Greavesy, he's pissin'about. Well, don't just stand there, Elliot! Oh, no ! Not again ! This is man-to-man-combat, not a bloody tea dance. use the bottom end of the boxin' hall for her ballet lessons. as a soup kitchen for the strikin'miners, I'm going to let Mrs. Hold it ! Oi, oi ! Here ! Now, because they're using downstairs. Are you *** ? Them gloves- They went out with the ark. * Scab ! Scab ! Scab ! Scab ! Scab ! Scab ! Scab ! Scab ! Scab ! Are you sure you're not going to come ? Am I ***. Tony ! see you down the picket line, Dad. The whole friggin' world's gonna be on that picket line this mornin'. * I danced myself out of the womb * Here we go, Dad! Come on, man.
Ow ! *** ! If Dad knew you smoked that stuff, he'd go mental. * I danced myself out of the womb * * I danced myself out of the womb * * Is it strange to dance so soon * *** ! You been playin' my records, you little *** ! I never played naught. * I danced myself into the tomb * Come on. And if the miners' strike serves largely as background color, the brief episode when visored and truncheon-wielding cops rampage through neat little terraced houses captures one of the most spiteful episodes in recent British history.* * I was dancing when I was 12 * * I was dancing when I was 12 * * I was dancing when I was out * * I was dancing when I was out * * I danced myself right out the womb * * I danced myself right out the womb * * Is it strange to dance so soon * * I danced myself right out the womb * * I was dancing when I was eight * * I was dancing when I was eight * * Is it strange to dance so late * * Is it strange to dance so late * * How * * How-ow-ow * * I danced myself into the tomb * * I danced myself into the tomb * * Is it strange to dance so soon * * I danced myself into the tomb * * Is it wrong to understand * * The fear that dwells inside a man * * What's it like to be a loon * Ah, no ! * I liken it to a balloon * * How * * How-ow-ow * * I danced myself out of the womb * * I danced myself out of the womb * Grandma. Among a flawless supporting cast, Stuart Wells stands out as Billy's sweet gay friend Michael. His powerhouse dance routines, more Gene Kelly than Nureyev, carry an irresistible sense of exhilaration and self-discovery.
Daldry's film sidesteps some of the politics, both sexual and otherwise, but scores with its laconic dialogue (credit to screenwriter Lee Hall) and a cracking performance from newcomer Jamie Bell as Billy. Wilkinson (Julie Walters, wearily undaunted), thinks he should audition for ballet school in London. Since admitting to such an activity is tantamount, in this fiercely macho culture, to holding up a sign reading "I Am Gay," Billy keeps it quiet. His dad has scraped together the fees to send him to boxing lessons, but Billy has discovered a different aptitude: a genius for ballet dancing.
The setting is County Durham in 1984, and things "up north" are even grimmer than usual: the miners' strike is in full rancorous swing, and 11-year-old Billy's dad and older brother, miners both, are on the picket lines. Foursquare in the gritty-but-heartwarming tradition of Brassed Off and The Full Monty comes Billy Elliot, the first film from noted British theatrical director Stephen Daldry.