Billy Elliot
(Rated: R, Universal Studios, 2000)
Available on VHS and DVD

I am aware that I may be in trouble for recommending this film, so let me say at the outset that this film is not for everyone. You should preview it before using it in a church-group setting. The language is appalling to some, offensive to many; and one sub-plot deals with homosexuality. This is a shame, because it may prevent some people from experiencing a truly wonderful story. Having offered this warning, let me proceed to the film itself and why it warrants a closer look.

Billy Elliot is a raw and honest coming-of-age story set in the coal-mining town of Durham, England. Billy is a gawky eleven-year-old boy being raised by his widower father, tough-as-nails older brother, and Alzheimer's-afflicted grandmother. Tradition in the Elliot home demands that clumsy Billy follow in the footsteps of brother, father, and grandfather by becoming a boxer and a miner. But Billy has a mind and a heart of his own. The boxing ring shares space with Mrs. Wilkinson's ballet class, and it is ballet that calls out to Billy. In secret defiance of father, family, and cultural expectations, Billy trades boxing gloves for toe shoes and learns to dance.

Young Jamie Bell, who ably plays Billy Elliot, turns in a stunning performance as a child awakening to his true passions in a world that will not accept him as he is. Square-peg Billy does not — literally cannot — fit the round hole in which the world wants to shove him. It is the presence of Mrs. Wilkinson (played by Julie Walters) that allows Billy to have hope — hope that it is okay to want something the rest of the world cannot understand. Even at the times when Billy is ready to quit, Mrs. Wilkinson holds fast to the gift that she sees in her pupil. This relationship offers a powerful illustration of what it means to have a mentor — someone who knows what we need to learn and can see in us what we are unable to see in ourselves. Billy Elliot is a story about how important it is to have someone believe in us. It reminds us that we cannot make it through this world alone.

Billy Elliot is also a story about following one's bliss — arranging a life around passion, purpose, and personal vision. In a flashback, Billy remembers his mother saying, "Always be yourself"; yet life makes this almost impossible. From the perspective of an eleven-year-old, life is not bound by what is merely possible, life is what you make it. Billy reaches for his dreams, and he cannot understand why the rest of the world cannot simply let him be. Billy is unaware that "real life" is hard, that often the cards are stacked against us. However, when we have the courage to attempt the impossible, miracles can happen.

Perhaps the greatest miracle in the film is the transformation of hard-edged Jackie Elliot (actor Gary Lewis), Billy's father. As I watched this film, I was struck by the similarities between Jackie Elliot and Joseph, the father (stepfather?) of Jesus. What must it have been like for Joseph to have a son he could hardly comprehend, let alone understand? Jackie Elliot wants to raise a man, not a sissy; but he also wants more for Billy than what he has himself. He doesn't want Billy to face a future of scraping to get by — fighting, working, and drinking beer — each day wondering if the mine might collapse. He wants his son to rise to his full potential, but not through dance. Dance violates everything Jackie Elliot believes is right and proper for men; yet, Jackie rises above his own limitations. He is able to set aside his own beliefs — to sacrifice his own agenda — to allow Billy to pursue his dream. He is able to do this even when he cannot understand it. His is a beautiful transformation.

One stunning scene places Billy before the review panel of the Royal Ballet School. Billy has all but ruined his chances for acceptance by fighting another student. As he prepares to leave, a woman asks him: "What does it feel like when you're dancing?" Billy reflects, struggles, then says, "I sort of disappear . . . I feel a fire in me body . . . like a bird . . . like electricity." Billy offers a glimpse of the transcendent, of what it means to experience the fullness of life. Billy explains not the act of the dance, but the encounter with the divine.

Billy Elliot will not please everyone (what film does?). But whether a group watches the film or not, there are wonderful lessons to be learned. Billy Elliot offers modern parables for the importance of mentoring, the necessity of discipline, the possibility of transformation, the benefits of pursuing our spiritual passions, and the value of standing behind the courage of our convictions. Billy Elliot offers one more way of thinking about what it means to be truly human, and —in fact — what it means to be a disciple.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

1. What is the importance of having mentors? Who have been significant mentors in your life? in your journey of faith? How do you mentor others? What opportunities for mentoring arise through your congregation?
2. What is the importance of discipline and practice in achieving your life's goals, your deepest passions? What changes when you strive to achieve your goals in community rather than alone?
3. What are your gifts? How do you know? What are you doing to discover, develop, and use your gifts?
4. God often gives us challenges that we do not understand. How can we be faithfully obedient to the will of God when we do not understand why our lives are the way they are? How do we discern God's will? How is obedience to the will of God different in a community or with a mentor than on our own?
5. How do we develop the courage to stand behind our convictions? What enables you to pursue your dreams and goals when the majority of people don't understand?
6. Reflect on the person of Joseph, husband of Mary, appointed father to Jesus. What must it have been like to have responsibility for God's own son? Speculate on how you might feel parenting a child of unlimited gifts and potential. How would you respond to that child when the things he (she) said and did were beyond your comprehension?

Dan R. Dick is a former staff member of the General Board of Discipleship.

Copyright © 2001 The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, P. O. Box 340003, Nashville TN 37203-0003; telephone: (615) 340-7079; Congregational Leaders Web Site http://www.gbod.org/congregational/default.asp. All rights reserved. You may reproduce this article in its entirety for nonprofit use with the inclusion of this complete copyright notice.

Posted 6-05-01


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