Very Cool!!!

From my favorite movies..

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

I can't say enough about this movie. It shows the angst of growing up poor in a mining town in northern England, and the struggles a family has when they go on strike. During this we see how Billy finds himself through dance, going against convention and against his own family. Some scenes are hard to watch, especially with the father, but they are played so well. The last scene of the movie brings tears to my eyes every time I see it and it will do the same to you.

Passionate about dance, a teenage boy secretly attends ballet classes and has deal with his father discovering his secret in this British drama starring Jamie Bell. The film may only have the most obvious of messages to offer in terms of the virtues of individualism and the hurtfulness of gender stereotypes, but it still leaves quite an impact with Bell in strong form. Bell has his own prejudices that he learns to deal with, fighting his own preconceptions that all other boys who do ballet are "bent" and Bell gives us a multi-dimensional character with a love for dance that resonates but also much internal anger. Julie Walters is equally as impressive as his spunky ballet teacher and they really carry the film. The less said about Bell's father, the better though. His father changes so quickly from being against ballet to in favour of it that the progression never rings true. The film has some crafty moments though in which the father's difficulties with work and participation in demonstrations are edited against Bell dancing. More could have probably been made of Bell emerging from such working class origins, but the film has plenty to like as it is with its celebration of dance as something that boys and girls can both succeed at.

The character development and Bell's acting were really superb. The film was well made and edited as it perfectly captured the struggles that Billy face and takes the audience along on the ride that is his life. Bell too, accurately showed his character's frustrations and inability to stop dancing as the passion burned in him.The acting from the other actors and actresses were pretty good, though I would have to say not on par with Bell's. They got into their characters well enough, however it felt awkward at times, especially when Lewis as Elliot's father was trying to act really angry, it felt staged to me.The chemistry between the actors felt really real. Elliot's friendship with Michael was so sweet that I almost died inside. Elliot's relationship with the rest of the characters too, was well displayed.The dancing element to this was really cool; Bell can really dance. I liked that the dancing was incorporated into all kinds of scenes as it enhanced the different moods being displayed. The ending though did not have a lot of dancing, was a great way to end.I also loved the fact that the film is based on how boys should not do 'girly' stuff like ballet, and instead should do 'manly' stuff like football and whatnot. Take those gender stereotypes and gender intensification, and stuff it somewhere else.One down side to this story though, was that I did not really get what was happening in the community except that there was a strike. I was a bit unsure as to what the father and brother were doing, and why they didn't really get along with Billy. That was a bit shaky to me.Read more of my reviews at championangels.wordpress.com

This is the story about a boy who succeeds in making his dream come true under difficult conditions. The boy's father makes his son Billy go to a boxing school because he wants his son to be strong man. However, Billy saw the girls who learn ballet by chance. He always likes dancing with songs in his home more than hitting people such as boxing or wrestling. He decides to join the ballet lesson in secrecy and his ballet teacher recommends him to go to ballet school in London. When his father finds out that his son learning ballet, he becomes very angry. At the beginning of the film, the family's bond is weak and looks fragile, but gradually they are reunited with each other. The film made me laugh and touched me deeply. It has great characters and the memorable stories.