Analysis of The Main Themes in The Film 'Billy Eliot'

The film Billy Elliot, directed by Stephen Daldry, explores the challenges of adversity, the search for identity and the pursuing of dreams as a collective human experience.

The film is set in a small County town of Durham, Northern England, during the 1984 miners’ strike. The Protagonist, Billy Elliot, was raised in a family of low socioeconomic status and the closure of the mines threat placed severe strain upon his father, Jackie and older brother Tony who relied heavily on mining to support the family’s low income. It is through Daldry’s clever use of camera angles, mise-en-scene and symbolism in the film, he invites the audience to follow Billy’s challenging, yet inspiration journey, as he defies the traditional expectations and societal paradigms of his society, in order to pursue his love for ballet.

An individual that challenges social paradigms and gender role expectations will encounter adversity within their community. This is evident in the film Billy Elliot, as Daldry’s use of characterisation between Billy and his father reveal to the audience the struggles both characters experienced as a result of societal and personal problems. Firstly, Billy was expected to follow the traditional path his father and grandfather pursued which was to maintain the family tradition of boxing. In the scene, ‘you’re a disgrace to the gloves’, Billy was criticised by his father and coach for his inability to box and tendency to sway and dance instead of engaging in physical combat. In this moment, Daldry highlights Billy’s struggle of conforming to gender roles and expectations, as he fails to exemplify the physical masculinity of his traditional, patriarchal mining community. Furthermore, in the film, Jackie is portrayed to be a strong activist in the miners’ strike, thus contributing to his masculinity and predefined judgments of what lads should do. In the ‘argument at the kitchen table’ scene, the conversation between Jackie and Billy reveal their opposing perspectives as Jackie firmly warns Billy he wants him to have no involvement in Ballet at all, “Boys do boxing or football or wrestling, not friggin ballet”. Daldry's use of reverse shot between father and son, highlights the hostility, thus creating an empathetic response from the viewers, as Billy’s has a melancholy relationship with his dad.

The search for identity is fuelled by a place in a society where an individual feels a sense of belonging. In the film, when Billy discovers the art of ballet, he begins a new identity despite the condemnation from his family and the Everington Community. In the scene, “why don’t you join in” Billy enters the feminie world of ballet and is challenged from the ballet instructor, Mrs Wilkinson to wear ballet slippers. The use of Dolly shot in this moment depicts the graceful movements of the ballerinas in their white slippers juxtaposing Billy dancing in blue boxing shoes. Daldry's juxtaposition of footwear highlights Billy breaking the social and gender expectations by removing the blue masculine boots and replacing them with white feminine slippers. The close up of the ballet slippers symbolises, Mrs Wilkinson initiating Billy’s search for identity and the beginning of a new life. Furthermore, through Billy’s search for identity, Micheal, Billy best friend experiments with cross-dressing in an attempt to find his authentic identity. In the ‘dancing for dad’ scene, the subdued lighting of the gym places the spotlight on Billy dancing and Micheal wearing a tutu. The motif of michael wearing a tutu is a sign of supporting Billy’s pursuit of ballet and also embraces his identity as a social outcast and homosexual.

The idea of perseverance in the pursuit of a dream is key for an individual to accomplish their sense of purpose. Billy’s ambition to become a successful ballet dancer was initially restricted by the social paradigms and gender expectations from the traditional masculine mining community, the attitudes of Jackie and Tony and the absence of financial support.

However, Billy is determined to work hard for his goals even with the lack of support and acceptance from his family. This is evident in the ‘pirouette practice’ scene, where Daldry’s use of parallel editing and cross cutting shows Billy endlessly posing and practicing pirouettes in front of the mirrors at the school, the hall and at home until they are perfect. The motif of the mirrors throughout this scene signifies Billy’s self-progress at it reflects devoted individual who is willing to preserve his dream and new identity as a professional ballet dancer. Additionally, the close up of Billy’s delighted facial expressions at the end of montage reveals to the audience his pride and satisfaction of himself, as he expresses his own individualism. Furthermore, in the final scene, where Billy performs in ‘Swan Lake’, Daldry clever use of non-diegetic music and subtle lighting captures the attention of the audience to focus solely on Billy as he enters the stage for his imperative leap. The slow motion, low angle shot of the leap exemplifies Billy leaping into a new world and newfound identity. In addition, Jackie is also seen to express his emotions as a close up on his facial expressions reveals his honoured affections towards his son for all he has achieved.

In conclusion, the film Billy Elliot by Stephen Daldry successfully explores how an individual’s passion towards pursuing their goals can be held back by numerous barriers and those barriers can be conquered with the perseverance of wanting to discover one's true identity and overcome the adversity.