Films
sometimes open our vision to what is possible for our lives. One of the
great themes told and retold in many guises is that of the ugly duckling
transforming into a beautiful swan. In a fairy tale, the growing up is
often magical. In Billy Elliot, the story weaves the allure of
magic through the innocent determination of an 11-year-old boy whose
passionate dancing steps challenge him and those around him to charter
beyond the confines and false security of class and gender stereotypes. Billy
Elliot delivers us to the core of our secret yearnings. There, we
might fight, and laugh, and cry, but with a reminder to dare to dance
when the music is playing, we just might be freed, if only for two
hours.
In Billy’s world, the most
that he should hope for is to grow up strong enough to earn his place
next to his father and his older brother in the coal mining pits. Not
only are Billy, his Dad, brother, and grandma scrambling to pull their
lives together after the loss of Billy’s mother, but they are also in
dire financial straits because of the prolonged miners’ strike.
However, far worse than the loss of a loved one, or even fear of
starvation, is Billy’s decision to trade his boxing gloves for ballet
slippers. Even if there were any future in ballet, real men just don’t
do it.
Into this world comes the most
unlikely of mentors. A chain smoking, tart tongued Mrs. Wilkinson, who
lives for her ballet teaching because her marriage is unfulfilling,
notices Billy’s gift and challenges him to train for an audition at
the Royal Ballet Academy in London. Ultimately, though, the challenge is
not ballet, but Billy’s courage to stand up to his father and dance,
regardless of the price.
The elements of the story have
virtually no surprises, and yet Billy Elliot is what the British
still do very well; tell a touching, earthy story about people
overcoming poverty and lack of confidence to become great. The tears,
especially of the father as he commits his very being and integrity to
earning the money for Billy’s bus ticket to the audition, rip at our
heart as we wonder at the capacity to do for others what has never been
done for us. This thread makes Billy’s transformation so much more
compelling than Billy’s own aspirations. After all, an equal measure
of Billy’s victory comes through the loving and nurturing triumph of
the imperfect, struggling adults; his father, brother, mentor, even the
nutty grandma.
Every aspect of the story
musters authentic vulnerability as the characters struggle to find their
inner fearlessness and realize a little more of their humanity. Even
delicious swirls of gender concern are woven in as Billy fights against
the stereotype that ballet will turn him into a "poof". At the
same time, Billy develops an accepting and understanding friendship with
a boy with openly gay proclivities. Many sub-themes richly layer the
ancient ugly duckling story to speak to our modern sensibilities and
issues. For those who fear a child’s direction into the insecure world
of art, or for those who are still plagued with prejudice about
homosexual tendencies and life choices, Billy Elliot offers a
beautiful message of hope and reassurance. But with all that, the story
ends in a wonderful gathering of the major characters at an event that
visually, emotionally, and metaphorically shows us that, indeed, the
swan, in all its glory and grace, is made of ducklings born in the most
unlikely circumstances.
Unfortunately, our younger
viewers who may be open to the vision of hope and inspiration that this
film offers may be denied access because of an R rating. Anyone who
spends much time around teenagers will be disappointed by this,
especially considering that, aside from a short scene of violence to
Billy’s brother at the hands of riot police, the rating stems from the
use of vulgar phrases. In any event, this is a movie that young and old
alike should see.
