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While he is initially horrified to learn that Billy likes ballet, he eventually comes around and supports his brother's talent, recognizing that Billy has something special. He bullies his little brother, and bullies people at work, passionate and violent in his philosophies about the strikes taking place. The older of the Elliot boys, Tony is a bully in every area of his life. Throughout the film, Jackie evolves in his attitudes, and eventually feels immense pride for his son when Billy wins a place at the school. Seeing that Billy's passion is not just some kind of pipe dream, Jackie works tirelessly to help ensure that Billy will be able to follow his passions. Later, however, Jackie sees Billy dance and realizes what an outstanding talent he is. He butts heads with both of his sons with Tony because of his radical union activity, and with Billy because of his love for dance. Underneath his gruffness and bouts of anger, Jackie is a deeply feeling man who wants what's best for his family. He has explosive emotions that come out at inopportune moments, especially as he struggles to raise two boys and look after his aging mother. Jackie is the archetypal Northern English working class man, a miner and a widow. Ultimately, however, Billy is a sensitive and deeply feeling individual, a boy who wants to escape the roughness of the world through self-expression and movement.
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Sometimes the anger and violence that surrounds Billy bubbles up in him, and he can become enraged and destructive. As he says at the end of his audition for ballet school, the feeling of dancing is like "electricity." Billy is understanding, sensitive, and imaginative, even though he is surrounded by violence and difficulty. Even though he is surrounded by no male dancer role models, he believes that dancing is what he is meant to do. No working-class English man is going to be happy to hear that their son wants to do something stereotypically effeminate, and Billy's widowed father, Jackie, does not approve of his son's interest.īut Billy is passionate about dancing-so passionate that he continues to dance even when strictly forbidden to do so. After Daldry cut his teeth at the Royal Court in London, the production company Working Title put him at the helm of its studio's first ever independent film.Eleven-year-old Billy is an aspiring ballet dancer who comes from a tough mining community in Northern England. Stephen Daldry creates a film that hums with the electric energy of its protagonist's youthful passion. Why did Stephen Daldry make Billy Elliot?ĭirector's Influence on Billy Elliot. This is a British social realism film due to its realistic depiction of British people. The film is set in Northern England in the mid-80s and explores gender stereotypes, different social classes, the 1984 miner's strike and the use of police violence. Of the several boys who have shared the role, none has stayed longer or been quite such a good fit for the fictional miner's son who dreams of being a ballet dancer.Īdditionally, what is the story behind Billy Elliot?īilly Elliot is about a young boy who finds his passion for dance. Adapted from a play called Dancer by Lee Hall, development on the film began in 1999.Īdditionally, is Billy Elliot still alive? Tonight the 14-year-old star Liam Mower will take his final curtain in the hit West End musical Billy Elliot. The film stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, Gary Lewis as his father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older brother, and Julie Walters as his ballet teacher. In this regard, who is the real Billy Elliot? "Yes, a large part of Billy Elliot's story is also my own story," says Mosley, massaging his right calf.
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LONDON (dpa) - Billy Elliot, the hugely successful British film about a young kid from a tough northern England mining town who becomes a ballet dancer, is based on a real person.
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