IMDb > Billy Elliot (2000)
Billy Elliot
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Billy Elliot (2000) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 51 | slideshow) Videos (see all 4)
Billy Elliot (2000) -- Home Video Preview
Billy Elliot (2000) -- Elton John sat down with Katie Couric and spoke candidly about his latest project, a musical version of the film, "Billy Elliot."
Billy Elliot (2000) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   36,468 votes
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Up 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Lee Hall (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Billy Elliot on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
29 September 2000 (UK) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Inside every one of us is a special talent waiting to come out. The trick is finding it.
Plot:
A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 49 wins & 54 nominations more
User Reviews:
A Triumph of Highly Charged Storytelling more (405 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jamie Bell ... Billy Elliot
Jean Heywood ... Grandma
Jamie Draven ... Tony Elliot
Gary Lewis ... Dad (Jackie Elliot)
Stuart Wells ... Michael Caffrey
Mike Elliot ... George Watson
Billy Fane ... Mr. Braithwaite
Nicola Blackwell ... Debbie Wilkinson

Julie Walters ... Mrs. Wilkinson
Carol McGuigan ... Librarian
Joe Renton ... Gary Poulson
Colin MacLachlan ... Mr. Tom Wilkinson (as Colin Maclachlan)
Janine Birkett ... Billy's Mum
Trevor Fox ... PC Jeff Peverly
Charlie Hardwick ... Sheila Briggs
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Dancer (France) (festival title) (UK) (working title)
Billy Elliot (France)
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MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for some thematic material. (edited version)
Runtime:
110 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
One of the great qualms of the entire film was whether Mrs. Wilkinson should be there in the final scene, where the older Billy Elliot performs Swan Lake. Eventually, it came down to the fact that 'Julie Walters' wasn't available for filming. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The punch-bag in the dimly lit shot of the gymnasium when Mrs Wilkinson is talking to Billy is moving in one shot (at 00:39:15), then stationary in the next (00:39:21), then moving again (00:40:20). more
Quotes:
Billy: I think I'm scared, Dad.
Dad: That's okay, son. We're all scared.
Billy: Well... if I don't like it, can I still come back?
Dad: Are you kidding? We've let out your room.
[straight face then laughter]
more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Ride A White Swan more

FAQ

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32 out of 41 people found the following review useful.
A Triumph of Highly Charged Storytelling, 7 December 2000

Billy Elliot is by far the most honestly told depiction of middle boyhood I've seen in years, if ever. I was in joyful tatters at the end of this story of a boy struggling to stay true to his calling in an anguished northern English mining town circa 1980. Every working class character in this film is written and uncompromisingly played with great love and understanding of both family and class hardship. Personally I view this film as the finest piece of British "intimiste" cinema I've seen since Mike Leigh's "Secrets and Lies". Yet it has epic elements as well. Billy's personal story unfolds while his home town is occupied by uniformed British strike control forces.

This is a tale of inter-masculine struggle in a family and mining town almost devoid of (and yearning for) a balancing feminine presence. Billy's gift is slowly awakened in this stressed and violent male crucible. His relationships with his brother, his father, his genderally confused classmate, and his teacher all grow increasingly charged as the movie develops. For honesty and presence, Jamie Bell as Billy far surpasses Haley Joel Osment's debut in The Sixth Sense. And if that's not enough, Julie Walters, Gary Lewis and Jamie Draven as Billy's teacher, dad and brother are all heartbreakingly portrayed. All are perfectly cast and at the very top of their form.

After all these characters have passed through the warzone of the first and second acts, director Steven Daldry delivers perhaps the most perfectly executed third act I have seen in a family centered drama from England or elsewhere. There are countless insightful decisions Daldry makes in the course of this film that other directors will study for years to come. But they're all brought to touching and masterful closure in the third act segments.

Kudos to scenarist Lee Hall for an excellent script. It should also be noted that many of DP Brian Tufano's beautifully composed shots match those of the great Chinese and Italian cinematographers. The film is brash in its musical style and forthright in its language. It is a film of specifics and the locale is not dressed up. And unlike many other local color films from England since 1985, this film has a strong, eminently compassionate narrative spine. Many audience members in the show I attended were immobilized and overcome in their seats during credits.

Despite frequent profanity, boys 11 and up should be allowed to see Billy Elliot, if only to keep them from abandoning hope. If it helps even one oppressed and confused boy keep an ear to the faint voice within that might just be his true calling, this film will have been worth every dollar spent in its making. A truly uplifting film.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Billy Elliot (2000)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Anyone else who loved Julie Walters in this? TheLittleSongbird
is someone know the name of the song gidi1
What are those coats called? herobella
Top 20 Performances Snubbed By The Oscars... Magical_Misfit
2 Fingered Salute? ohkay43
Does anyone like the film MORE than the musical? Northerner335
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