Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Arts Council of England
BBC Film
StudioCanal
Tiger Aspect
Universal Pictures
Not part of a collection.
Inside every one of us is a special talent waiting to come out. The trick is finding it.
County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.
CinemaSerf
Oct 21, 2023 · via TMDB
I hadn't seen this film since it was released when it was shown recently as a part of the Glasgow Youth Film Festival. The fact that it was chosen by the kids of today in what would have been just as unlikely a setting for this film as the North of England speaks volumes as to it's effect on challenging and breaking the stereotypical moulds that the British working class in the early 1980s was steeped in. The sylph-like "Billy" (the hugely engaging Jamie Bell) goes to boxing class each week but is soon more preoccupied by the adjacent dancing class of the no-nonsense "Mrs. Wilkinson" (Julie Walters) who gradually lets him join in. He's a bit scared that his dad (Gary Lewis) and his wayward brother "Tony" (Jamie Draven) will find out so it has to all be a bit clandestine. It's only when his striking miner father finds out from the boxing coach that "Billy" is spending his 50p elsewhere that a confrontation ensues and the film steps up a gear. The characterisations are strong and are not frightened to evolve - but not in a simplistic A+B=C fashion. There are troubles and traumas - not least those faced by a father who struggles with his own emotions; is facing financial difficulties, a wayward older son and a younger one who wants to dance and hangs about with best pal "Michael" (another strong effort from Stuart Wells) who is quite clearly gay. Walters and Bell and Bell and Lewis work well together here; allowing the story to emerge naturally and energetically and as feel-good films go, this takes some beating. It's the ultimate "anyone can do" film that resonates as well now as it did then - only, maybe, the soundtrack needs a bit of updating! Great film this - and there's even a tiny bit of Adam Cooper at the end.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Jamie Bell
Billy Elliot
Gary Lewis
Jackie Elliot
Julie Walters
Mrs Wilkinson
Jean Heywood
Grandma
Jamie Draven
Tony Elliot
Stuart Wells
Michael Caffrey
Mike Elliot
George Watson
Joe Renton
Gary Poulson
Colin MacLachlan
Mr Tom Wilkinson
Janine Birkett
Billy's mother
Trevor Fox
PC Jeff Peverly
Charlie Hardwick
Sheila Briggs
Matthew James Thomas
Simon
Stephen Mangan
Ballet Doctor
Paul Ridley
Tutor in Medical
Patrick Malahide
Principal
Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Vice-Principal
Imogen Claire
Tutor 1
Diana Kent
Tutor 2
Neil North
Tutor 3
Lee Williams
Tutor 4
Merelina Kendall
Secretary
Zoë Bell
Sandra
Tracey Wilkinson
Geography Teacher
Adam Cooper
Billy (aged 25)
Dylan Barnes
PC White (uncredited)
Adam Galbraith
Dancer in 'Swan Lake' (uncredited)
Darren Jacobs
Dancer in 'Swan Lake' (uncredited)
Sharon Percy
Jenny Poulson (uncredited)
Maria Djurkovic
Production Design
Brian Tufano
Director of Photography
C.C. Smiff
Stunts
Derek Lea
Stunts
Mark Southworth
Stunts
Neil Finnighan
Stunts
Nick Hobbs
Stunts
Ray Nicholas
Stunts
Richard Bradshaw
Stunts
Rob Inch
Stunts
Steve Griffin
Stunts
Stephen Daldry
Director
John Wilson
Editor
Jina Jay
Casting
David M. Thompson
Executive Producer
Natascha Wharton
Executive Producer
Tessa Ross
Executive Producer
Greg Brenman
Producer
Stephen Warbeck
Original Music Composer
Mike Prestwood Smith
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Lee Hall
Writer
The Avant-Gardener
Runner's High
Angie Lemaire
Losing Luna
The Flesh of Another
Dancing with Georgia
Low Stress Day
Functional Block Diagrams
witchstone
The Olympean Collection
Straight Guy Watches Gay Porn for the First Time
Before the Last Goodbye
Under Water
Boy Drenched in Water
Final Exams
The Dance of Two Left Feet
Brenda Lee and the Palace of Princesses
City of God
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Mommy
Pussy Riot: Rage Against Putin
Good Will Hunting
Central Station
La Haine
Wild Strawberries
La Dolce Vita
Dial M for Murder
Casino
Riot at the Rite
The Winter's Tale (The Royal Ballet)
Lillian's Dilemma
Scarborough Ahoy!
J'ador
Polojasno
A Bright Sun
Toy Story
Loving Vincent
La Strada
Mirror
Pixote
The Pursuit of Happyness
Mulholland Drive
The Color Purple
The Blues Brothers
The Breakfast Club
I Don't Want to Go Back Alone
Carnival
Flow
Boyz n the Hood
Atonement
Toy Story 2
The Last Samurai
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
All About the Levkoviches
Our Hospitality
The Magnificent Seven
Zorba the Greek
The Dancing Millionairess
The Trap
The African Queen
21 Grams
Minari
Belle de Jour
25th Hour
The Promised Land
This Man Must Die
Heathers
Just a Question of Love
Hair
The Damned
From the Life of the Marionettes
Pleasantville
The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd
Hunger
Lady Maiko
Monster
Breakfast on Pluto
Ikingut
The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity
Irreversible
Stranger Than Paradise
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Notes on a Scandal
Drugstore Cowboy
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Cars
Far from Heaven
My Own Private Idaho
Caché
The Tin Drum
Together
Addams Family Values
The Squid and the Whale
Any Day Now
Los gatos del callejón
Rubber Duckie
Northwood Pie
The Pornographer
First Blush
Party Hard
Cuban Rhythm
Quarters
Three Wishes
Naked Lunch
24 Hour Party People
Revolver
Ammonite
Center Stage
Carla's Song
Vita & Virginia
I Don't Wanna Dance
Fire
Short Sharp Shock
Jakob the Liar
The Old Docker
Hitpig!
Elf
The Third One
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Effi Briest
American Pie
Requiem
To Die For
Zazie dans le Métro
Chicken Girls: The Movie
Stolen Days
Love Me Tender
Die Klasse von '99 - Schule war gestern, Leben ist jetzt
Edge of Seventeen
East Is East
Time to Leave
Savage Nights
Help Me I'm Dying
Photographs
Chebi: My Fluffy Friend 2
Orange Cheesecake
Flashdance
Joe Bell
Lola and the Sea
Emil and the Detectives
Everybody Wants Some!!
The Good Shepherd
Cloudburst
Summer in Berlin
Enigma
Chasing Ghosts
Departure
Dilan 1983
White Squall
Popular Music
Bride Wars
The Mothman Prophecies
Killing Zoe
A Broad Bellflower
Kohinoor
Pacifiction
Elephant
Summer Games
The Slurb
My Child
The Party Is Over
7 Virgins
The Slingshot
The Beautiful Country
Glitterbug
Lola Pater
The Nutcracker
No Chief Is Good Enough
Transfusion
Going to Heaven
The Tailor of Panama
Boys and Girls
Shut Up When You Speak!
Henry Gamble's Birthday Party
Daddy Day Care
Because I Said So
Broadway Damage
Bulletproof
Royalteen
Friendship
Zinnia Flower
Dirty 30
Bitter Sweet
Through the Fields
Brother
The Way Out
My Father, Die
Going Down in La-La Land
Give or Take
One Night
Summer '04
Crossway
A Skeleton in the Closet
Main Tera Hero
We Are Animals
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
Between Them
Easy Girl
Itty Bitty Titty Committee
WTC View
Forgive and Forget
Johnny Minotaur
Prom Night
The Mountain
Lali: Time To Step Up
Get Your Stuff
Antarctica
You & Me
The Lady Banker
Mae Martin: SAP
The Killer Condom
Lovely Man
Dive
Forget America
The Bug Killer
The Royal Ballet
The Writer
The Romantics
Anna Pavlova
Poof
New York's Finest
A Bottle of Wishes
Nights of Farewell
Confusion of Genders
We Are Thr3e
Gugu, o Bom de Cama
Tennessee Queer
Pusong Mamon
Bonsoir
Hangin' Out
Edging
Bianca Del Rio Birthday Roast
Living at 100 Miles an Hour
A Boy Like That
Son, I Love Your Mouth 2: The Taste of the Forbidden
Butch Jamie
Unsaid
Rewind 1984
The Sacred Band
Calvary
Subways
Johnny
Rain Beau's End
Butterfly
Bones
Best Friends Forever
Dutch Touch
This Side of Heaven
Escaping Gravity
The Creature
Good Night
Bold Eagle
Bolshoi Ballet: The Nutcracker
Bolshoi Ballet: Coppélia
Bolshoi Ballet: A Hero of Our Time
The Bolshoi Ballet: A Contemporary Evening
Bare-assed Japan
Vhagetz
Trilogy of Our Lives Undone
The Stop
Footing
Gila and Rik
Go Crazy with Crazy
Belmiro, Belmiro, Belmiro
Events Transpiring Before, During, and After a High School Basketball Game
Poly Andrew
How Can I Hug Without You?
Las cosas de Pepe da Rosa
Greta
Orpheus Star
Article 12
What's Left Inside
Boys on 8 Tape
Harems
The Path of the Ogre
Letters to the Man I Love
Changing Tide
Espaço Beleza Bem Estar
Assassination In Harbin
The “Volleyball Flower”
That Dark Day
A Fuckboi Story
Xia Ri Shi Guang
Eva
Away from here
floating in between
El Conejo
Stevi
Sorry, We're Dead
August
Mendota
Paraíso
Courts mais Gay : Tome 3
Sucker's Death
If
So I Didn't Sleep Very Well Last Night
The Cuck
Priscilla Queen of the Desert 2
Procura-se: Um pato e um gato
Junebug and The Sun
Tenho um dragão que mora comigo
Counting Miracles
Untitled Chico Mendes Biopic
Go To Hell Goliath
Poligala
Psycho Lovers
Bitchin'
Cinematic Kaleidoscope
School's In
La bola negra
Anytime You're Feeling Lonely
Naquele banco
7 Miles Out
It Burns!
Late Night Television
happiness
Departure
All Of My Feelings
Antes que se Repita
Little Manly
Philia
Esta Noche
Pride
The Holdovers
Work It
Bob Trevino Likes It
Frances Ha
Hair
Moxie
Ghostlight
The Upside
High Hopes
Mr. Holland's Opus
Blinded by the Light
Center Stage
Tully
White Men Can't Jump
Beaches
Kinky Boots
Bravetown
One Chance
Swing Kids
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Max Dugan Returns
Corner Office
3 Generations
Bootmen
You Got Served
Father Mother Sister Brother
No Retreat, No Surrender
A Chorus Line
Born to Dance
The Jazz Singer
Madea's Witness Protection
Renaissance Man
Grace Unplugged
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Nothing in Common
Oct 12, 2000
Austin Film Festival
Oct 13, 2000
Nov 10, 2000
© 2025-2026 MovieNight. All rights reserved.
Versus
Sign in to play →
The Stranglers - Live '78, SF
1978
Saddle Leather Law
1944
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
Versus
Sign in to play →
The Stranglers - Live '78, SF
1978
Saddle Leather Law
1944
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
We use essential cookies to run MovieNight, plus analytics (Google Analytics) and advertising (Google AdSense) cookies. By continuing to browse, you agree to this — or click No and we won't. See our Terms & Privacy Policy to learn more.