Billy Elliot Review
by Tim Wick
Well the Oscar nominations have come out and now I need to find a way to see
all the nominated films I somehow managed to miss over the last 12 months.
This presents something of a dilemma. You see, last year I had not seen
The Cider House Rules or The Insider when the nominations came out. I
went to see them and came away thinking neither was a film particularly
worthy of such lofty recognition. In the time since then, The Insider has
grown in my estimation. The Cider House Rules has actually gotten worse
with age.
So as I go see these movies, I try to be aware that I am watching them with
Oscar colored glasses.
Billy Elliot is a British film that is nominated for Best Director, Best
Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress (Julie Walters). We'd tried to see
this movie several times this year but something always got in the way.
Fortunately, the Suburban world was showing the film this week and we had a
sitter for Valentine's day. I have to talk a little bit about the Suburban
world theater before I talk about the film.
I love this movie theater. About a year ago, it was remodeled into a cinema
cafe style theater. The owner shows a lot of classic films, but also does
some second run shows as well. The interior of the theater is the stuff
dreams are made of. Stars twinkle in the sky overhead as hidden lights
illuminate an Italian villa facade that surrounds the audience. The back of
the theatre is steeply raked to ensure everyone has a good view. Nowhere in
the Twin Cities will you find the ambience this theatre has.
The food is overpriced - which is standard for a cinema cafe, but pretty
good. Their buffalo chicken fingers were pretty standard out-of-the-box
style stuff. I had something called the Midnight Run, which was a Turkey
and Portobello mushroom sandwich. Frankly, I thought it was absolutely
wonderful. The fries were decent. Overall, the meal was good and it made
for an enjoyable viewing experience.
So go to the Suburban World. You never know what they are going to show,
but you can always check by linking to the Pioneer Press movie page
and selecting the Suburban
world theatre from the drop down box on the upper right.
Now for the movie.
I liked this movie quite a bit. I get the feeling I might have liked it
more had it not been so startlingly similar to last years October Sky.
The trick to liking this movie is being OK with the fact that you have seen
this plot before. If you love movies, you will enjoy the film anyway
because the characters are interesting and the filmmakers manage to squeeze
a little life into a rather worn story line.
The basic concept: Billy wants to be a ballet dancer. His tough father and
brother - both striking coal miners - don't think that is a great career
choice. His stern but affectionate teacher (Julie Walters) thinks he has
the talent to become a star. We all know where this film is going because
we've seen it before. That's really not such a bad thing.
Walters does a fine job as Billy's ballet teacher. Given she is the only
Best Supporting Actress nominee I've seen so far, I will withhold judgement
as to her performance compared to others in the field. Her character is
important because she recognizes something in Billy before he does. She
does not seem to be encouraging him out of a desire to improve her own life,
but rather out of an affection for her student.
If Oscar snubbed anyone, it is Jamie Bell as Billy. The plot does manage to
be complex because Billy isn't just being motivated by wanting to dance. He
is pulled in several directions at once as the coal strike is creating
violence and anger all around him, his sickly grandmother is relying
primarily on him for her care and he is trying to come to grips with the
loss of his mother. Billy is confused and doesn't know what exactly he
wants - even as he makes the decision to audition for ballet school in New
York. For a young actor, Bell is remarkably good at pulling off the complex
emotions Billy is going through. He also dances exactly as he should -
better than most of us could, but still lacking a professional polish that
years of training would create.
The strike is central to the film. Almost every scene features a police
wagon or policeman. They are part of the scenery but never look like they
belong there. In one well crafted shot, a little girl is running a stick
along a brick wall. The wall goes away and her stick continues to clack
along the shields of several policemen in riot gear. The juxtaposition is
both funny and absurd. We know it wouldn't happen that way, but the point
is made. We may continuously notice the police officers, but the people in
this town do not.
My primary complaint will be limited to technical issues. I don't know what
it is about British film, but the sound quality is almost always terrible.
The score tends to be overly loud, drowning out voices when it's not
intended to. British accents can be remarkably hard to understand and the
sound quality of these films makes it darn near impossible. Often, I find
myself wishing I had subtitles so I could understand what the characters are
saying. Kind of annoying when they are speaking English.
Billy Elliot is a predictable film, but it manages to surprise you at a
few points and it has several good performances (I haven't mentioned Jamie
Draven and Gary Lewis as Billy's brother and father, but I really should
have). I'm certainly glad I got to see it. It is showing at the Suburban
World through Monday, Feb 19th. I would find time to check it out.
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