What is billy elliot about

Set against the background of the Miner's Strike, Billy Elliot Jamie Bell is an eleven-year-old boy who stumbles out of the boxing ring and onto the ballet floor. He faces many trials and triumphs as he strives to conquer his family's set ways, inner conflict, and standing on his toes! Eleven-year old Billy Elliot Jamie Bell , whose father and brother are participating in the strike, whose mother has died quite some time ago, and whose grandmother is not completely aware of what's going on, doesn't like the brutal boxing lessons at school.

Instead, he falls for the girls' ballet lessons. When his folks find out about this unusual love of his, Billy is in trouble. Being supported by the ballet teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson Dame Julie Walters , he keeps on training secretly while the work situation, as well as the problems at home, get worse.

Finally, Mrs. Wilkinson manages to get Billy an audition for the Royal Ballet School, but now he also has to open his heart to his family. Against the background of an increasingly bitter miners' strike in which his elder brother and father are involved, young Billy Elliot Jamie Bell finds he prefers joining in the girls' ballet class at the local hall to the boxing he's there for. The ballet teacher, Mrs. One male character puts another male character's hands down his pants.

Use of sexual British slang words like "puffer" and "fanny. Frequent strong language from all characters, including children. Many uses of "f--k," "s--t," "hell," "ass," "crap," "wanker," "for God's sake," and more. Drinking by both adult and underage characters and smoking, references to alcoholism, adult characters tipsy.

Parents need to know that the uplifting dramedy Billy Elliot is rated R primarily for language an edited version was released on DVD with a PG rating, but it's no longer easy to find for rental or sale -- everyone in the movie uses extremely strong language all the time. There are also references to transvestism and homosexuality, some discussion of sex among young characters, and a brief glimpse of bare buttocks when one character moons another.

Some teens may be upset by the way that family members treat each other -- they're insulting, neglectful, and cruel, and one parent hits a child and threatens another -- but the overall takeaway is a heartwarming one. Add your rating See all 19 parent reviews. Add your rating See all 34 kid reviews. Amidst the tension, year-old Billy Jamie Bell , whose main sport is boxing, is pulled into a ballet lesson taught by Mrs. Wilkinson Julie Walters.

Billy discovers that ballet both answers and creates a need in him that he can no more name than he can resist. Billy lives with his father Gary Lewis , brother, and grandmother; his mother died the year before, his grandmother is forgetful, and his father and brother are on strike. With the adults busy with their own problems, Billy is able to keep his new activity a secret When his father eventually finds out, he's furious and tells his son to quit.

But Billy has to dance -- and it might even be his way to bigger and better things. This film is well above average -- tender, funny, and touching. Bell is extraordinary as Billy, and Lewis is first-rate as the father who makes an unbearably painful sacrifice in order to give his son the chance he never had. Director Stephen Daldry has a real gift for visual storytelling, and it's on display in Billy Elliot.

A chase through hanging laundry, dance lessons in a boxing ring, and the opening shot of Billy on a trampoline are images that are fresh and memorable. Families can talk about how the stress of painful external circumstances like can affect family members' ability to be kind to one other in Billy Elliot. Why was the strike so important to Billy's dad and brother?

How was that like -- and not like -- the importance of ballet to Billy? Why did Mrs. Wilkinson want to help Billy? Why was Billy's interest in ballet so terrifying to him? What made him change his mind?

What do you think of Billy's dad's response when Billy says he's scared? Since its release in Billy Elliot has become a British classic. Sign up and get all of i's film, TV and book reviews in one place, every week Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem. More from Culture.

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