Plot
The film is set during the 1984–1985 UK miners' strike, and centres on the character of 11-year-old Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell), his love of dance and his hope to become a professional ballet dancer. Billy lives with his widowed father, Jackie (Gary Lewis), and older brother, Tony (Jamie Draven), both coal miners out on strike, and also his invalid Nan (Jean Heywood), who once aspired to be a professional dancer in Durham.
Jackie takes Billy to the Sports Centre to learn boxing, but Billy dislikes the sport. He happens upon a ballet class that is using the gym while their usual basement studio in the Sports Centre is temporarily being used as a soup kitchen for the striking miners. Unknown to Jackie, Billy joins the ballet class. When Jackie discovers this, he forbids Billy to take any more ballet. But, passionate about dancing, Billy secretly continues lessons with his dance teacher Georgia Wilkinson's (Julie Walters) help.
Mrs. Wilkinson believes Billy is talented enough to study at the Royal Ballet School in London, but due to Tony's arrest during a skirmish between police and striking miners, Billy misses the audition. Mrs. Wilkinson tells Jackie about the missed opportunity, but fearing that Billy will be considered a "poof", both Jackie and Tony are outraged at the prospect of Billy becoming a professional ballet dancer.
Over Christmas, Billy learns his best friend, Michael is gay. Although Billy is not, he is supportive of his friend. Later, Jackie catches Billy dancing in the gym and realises his son is truly gifted; he will do whatever it takes to help Billy attain his dream. Jackie attempts to cross the picket line to pay for the trip to London, but Tony blocks him. Instead, his fellow miners and the neighbourhood raise some money,and Jackie sells Billy's mam's jewelry to cover the cost and Jackie takes him to London to audition for the Royal Ballet School. Though highly nervous, Billy performs well, but he punches another boy in his frustration at the audition and the fear that he has ruined his chance of attaining his dream. He is sternly rebuked by the review board. Seemingly rejected, Billy returns home with his father. Sometime later, he receives a letter accepting him to the Royal Ballet School, and he leaves home to attend.
The film's final scene is set fourteen years later (approximately 1999): the mature Billy (dancer/actor Adam Cooper) takes the stage to perform the lead in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, as Jackie, Tony, and Michael watch in the audience.
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