An eleven-year-old boy who dreams of ballet in a world where men box and strike: Billy Elliot has hung up his boxing gloves and chooses pirouettes over uppercuts. But how do you tell that to a father scared his son might not fit the mould of a ‘proper man’? Please note: this screening is sold out!
Billy Elliot lives with his father, brother and grandmother with dementia in a small working-class house in Northern England. It’s 1984, in the middle of the infamous miners’ strikes. After his mother’s death, the house is filled with an atmosphere where emotions are suppressed and anything different is viewed with suspicion.
Billy’s father forces him to attend boxing lessons, but he has no talent for it. He discovers he much prefers dancing at the ballet class taught by chain-smoking teacher Mrs. Wilkinson (Julie Walters). “Lads do football, boxing or wrestling, no freaking ballet!” his father shouts angrily. “What’s wrong with ballet?” Billy asks innocently. “It just ìs!”
Director Stephen Daldry tells the story without embellishment. No moment is heightened for extra drama or humor. He shows rather than tells, which gives the story its power.
Fourteen-year-old Jamie Bell plays Billy brilliantly. He dances with energy and charm through the grey streets to music by The Clash, Tchaikovsky and T-Rex. The highlight is his dance improvisation to ‘I like to Boogie’.
The film is about masculinity and what that means. Billy’s best friend Michael is hopelessly in love with Billy, but Billy’s own sexuality remains unclear in the film. The story works as a modern fable: specific enough to be believable, universal enough to touch everyone.
Billy Elliot is a moving film about the courage to stay true to yourself, even when everyone is against you. A story that brings out your inner child.
Please note: this film is part of the Film in de Pluktent programme. Screening starts at 19:15. Ticket: €6.
