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The ennui and oppression, not to mention the ubiquitous presence of strike-breaking cops, are merely window dressing to give вЂњBilly ElliotвЂќ a gravity it doesnвЂ™t need and canвЂ™t support. But not only do we never see those conditions, the filmвЂ™s well-fed, sanitized ambiance makes it seem as if the miners are striking out of laziness or spite. Hall clearly means to link BillyвЂ™s struggle for self-expression with the minersвЂ™ efforts to better their working conditions. WhatвЂ™s harder to ignore is вЂњBilly ElliotвЂ™sвЂќ odd, unsuccessful mix of theatrical whimsy and social realism.

That these performances are differently, inconsistently pitched is understandable considering DaldryвЂ™s first-timer status. And Gary Lewis, as reliably tortured as ever, gives a North Yorkshire spin to the word вЂњballetвЂќ thatвЂ™s almost worth the price of admission. Young Jamie Bell, a little too aware of the effect of his winningly crooked grin, never quite locates BillyвЂ™s ambivalent drive or awkward grace, but he does capture the sheer physicality of someone who was born to move: his dancing is genuinely invigorating to watch. WilkinsonвЂ™s tired disappointment with humor and grit, which makes her disappearance three-quarters of the way through the film all the more frustrating. Walters, best remembered for 1983вЂ™s similarly themed вЂњ Educating Rita,вЂќ nicely undercuts Mrs. Wilkinson indulge (be forewarned: legwarmers are involved). The improbable, squeaky-clean milieu (you could eat out of the gutters in BillyвЂ™s vibrantly hued hometown, though, sadly, no one does) is as easy to overlook as the cringe-inducing вЂ™80s-style music video routine in which he and Mrs. The equally converted townspeople pitch in, and Dad eventually accompanies Billy to a tense interview in London.Дeep predictability and occasional dragginess aside, вЂњBilly ElliotвЂ™sвЂќ inherent lightness and game artificiality make it hard to dislike.

Dutifully converted by the boyвЂ™s talents (if not his taste in friends - BillyвЂ™s inconclusive sexuality is a running subtext), Dad flirts with scab-hood at the mine in order to scrape together enough dosh for BillyвЂ™s RBS application. The elder Elliot inexplicably relents, however, when he spies his son dancing with a cross-dressing pal ( Stuart Wells) in an empty social club on Christmas Eve. Thanks to Dad, BillyвЂ™s dance training and friendship with Mrs. She urges him to apply to the Royal Ballet School in London, but the boyвЂ™s ruse is uncovered and heвЂ™s forced to miss an interview at the school. Hardly the ideal setting for a burgeoning prodigy, but Billy nevertheless attends his secret lessons and thrives under the tutelage of Mrs. Macho and brutally repressed, Dad brooks no rebellion from either of his sons. The Elliots, including older brother Tony ( Jamie Draven) and a feeble grandmother ( Jean Heywood), are quietly reeling from the recent death of BillyвЂ™s mother, while Dad and Tony also suffer the indignity of a long minerвЂ™s strike. WilkinsonвЂ™s all-girl ballet class, where she recognizes and nurtures his talent at the expense of her other students. Forced into boxing lessons by his clueless father (Gary Lewis), Billy sneaks instead into Mrs. Set in a small coal-mining town in Northern England during the mid 1980s, вЂњBilly ElliotвЂќ focuses on the precarious development of its preadolescent heroвЂ™s gift for dancing. Tyro director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter Lee Hall add a few twists to the formula, but their exercise in cinematic uplift remains faithful - if not exactly slavish - to its genre roots.

Cast from the same вЂњfollow-your-dream-whatever-the-obstaclesвЂќ mold as вЂњ FlashdanceвЂќ (1983), вЂњ Dirty DancingвЂќ (1987), and this monthвЂ™s вЂњ Bootmen,вЂќ вЂњBilly ElliotвЂќ is, like its predecessors, frequently charming, occasionally exhilarating, and never less than completely predictable. If only the film in which this exchange takes place held such surprises. вЂњWhat do you think?вЂќ she replies bitterly, вЂњHe asked her to marry him and then went off with somebody else.вЂќ вЂњWhat happened?вЂќ he demands when she hesitates to reveal the fates of the Swan Queen and Prince Siegfried. Wilkinson ( Julie Walters) tells her star pupil Billy ( Jamie Bell) the story of вЂњ Swan Lake.вЂќ Her faraway tone indicates that its themes of love and betrayal have personal significance, and Billy is rapt. (indieWIRE/ 10.12.00) - Midway through the new dance drama вЂњBilly Elliot,вЂќ middle-aged ballet instructor Mrs. REVIEW: Mixed Steps, Pleasing and Predictable 'Billy Elliot'

Flashdance fieds of gold dirty dancing thel