thanks for this splendid defense of Billy Elliot. i enjoyed the film too.
too busy to say more just now
cheers

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Date forwarded:         Tue, 7 Jan 2003 23:31:00 +0000
Date sent:              Wed, 8 Jan 2003 09:55:51 +1000
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From:                   Gary MacLennan <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:                My take (brief) on Billy Elliot. was( on Re: Billy Elliot. Loathsome.
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This thread was kicked off by a splendid piece of invective from Jeremy
Robinson.  For him Billy Elliott was "the most vomit-inducing attempt at
'nostalgia'".  He also claimed that the film bored him.  Given the level of
vituperation occasioned by the film, this latter statement is hardly
credible. We cannot be bored by anything we hate so much - surely.

However that may be after Jeremy's post I was certainly not going to put up
my hand and say "I liked it!"  To do so would appear to volunteer oneself
as a tastelessly sentimental moron, who cared nothing about the working
class of England, especially the miners, and who also quite happily ignored
the decline of Britain's national cinema.

But A. Moor's post has given me some courage. There are interesting things
in the film.  For instance when the child walks along dragging the stick
along the wall and suddenly the stick is bumping across the riot shields of
Britain's brightest and best (NOT). I admit that image is hardly adequate
to an account of the miners' strike.   However the child and the stick and
the brutal imperviousness of the shields does convey something of the
nature of the Thatcherite state.  Jeremy might concede here that at least
this is not the kind of image a Thatcherite or Blairite (same difference)
spin doctor would choose.

I also liked the fact that the father's moment of triumph at the success of
his son is compromised by the defeat of his class.

(BTW I was at Essex University in 71/2 and heard Arthur Scargill address
the student body during that great strike.  It was a magnificent and deeply
moving speech and 30 years later I still recall him talk of the 'blood on
the coal'. So I know something of what the defeat of the 80s meant.)

However as A. Moor points out it is really in the domain of sexuality that
the film is at its most radical.  Of course it displaces Billy's
homosexuality unto his friend, Michael (Stuart Wells) but it still leaves
open the question of Billy's own sexuality. (Just because you are a dancer
does not mean that you are not queer). The amibivalence and compromises
here are for me a much more honest recognition of the uneven reception of
"gay liberation" than the cheerful "There's nowt as queer as folk" of The
Full Monty.

There are three particular moments in the exchanges between Billy and
Michael that stand out for me.  The tutu sequence where Billy dresses up
and dances with Michael is beautifully done.  The word I want to use here
is 'tender' but I fear sending Jeremy rushing off screaming to the chuck
bucket. The farewell kiss between the boys and the recognition of Michael's
devastation at the loss of Billy is another fine moment.

But perhaps the best moment occurs when Michael is allowed to share the
family triumph at the end.  Alongside the father's joyous face is Michael's
sly cross-dressed pleasure at the success of his former love. The
heterosexual family has to allow a space for the despised Other.

Regards

Gary