Gritty and graceful

[Photo: Universal Studios] Jamie Bell plays the title role in "Billy Elliot," a boy who leaves boxing behind for ballet.

By PHILIP BOOTH

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 9, 2000

Warm without being sentimental, Billy Elliot is the tale of a boy who finds his footing.

The sound-bite description of Billy Elliot -- boy switches from boxing to ballet, defying his tough coal-miner father and learning important life lessons along the way -- might be enough to frighten away even those most receptive to British imports. Could this be some sort of unholy cross between Fame and The Full Monty?

Not a chance. Stage director Stephen Daldry's accomplished feature debut is a feel-good film that is short on sentimentality and imbued with grittiness.

Jamie Bell, a 14-year-old screen rookie, plays the title character with equal measures of high-spiritedness and emotional resonance. It's a coming-of-age story, set in northeast England circa 1984, that's nearly devoid of sap.

Billy, a shy 11-year-old, obedient to his widowed father (Gary Lewis) and devoted to his absent-minded grandmother (Jean Heywood), is a failure as an athlete at the neighborhood boys club. "You're a disgrace to those gloves, your father and this hall," the kid's boxing coach declares.

Just next door, though, is a room full of little girls in tutus and an earnest, sharp-tongued teacher (Julie Walters) who can't help but notice the boy's agility and grace.

Soon enough, Billy is stealing ballet books from the local library, studying Fred Astaire's moves in Top Hat and spending his boxing money on dancing lessons. He rehearses in secret at home, crashing into walls and other objects when he makes missteps.

The story of Billy's rise from pretender to contender is augmented with a couple of subplots, including his father and older brother (Jamie Draven) in an extended, violence-tinged miners' strike. Billy also navigates around the romantic attentions of a couple of schoolmates, both male and female.

Daldry and screenwriter Lee Hall adroitly examine the resentments, class consciousness and biases of Billy's father, his son's fierce struggle to escape the mines and the sheer joy Billy discovers in the physicality and poetry of dance.

Billy Elliot

Grade: B+

Director: Stephen Daldry

Cast: Julie Walters, Gary Lewis, Jamie Bell, Jamie Draven

Screenplay: Lee Hall

Rating: R; profanity, violence, sexual innuendo

Running time: 110 min.

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