Life for Billy' s townsfolk in the Thatcher years seems pre-ordained--embittered men surrounded by other embittered men, performing backbreaking work underground for pitiful wages. Billy' s home life doesn' t provide much escape, either. His mother is deceased and his father and older brother, currently on a protracted miners' strike, are the very image of soccer-hooligans-at-home--they' d sooner say "f--- you" than "thank you," and "I love you" seems beyond imagination. But Billy' s father shows his love in other ways, scraping together his meager savings to send the boy to learn boxing, a skill that, one senses, he' ll be needing all too soon.

Hugging the ropes, Billy' s clearly an unlikely boxer. That' s partly because, through his helmet, he hears his own music, namely from Mrs. Wilkinson' s Ballet School, which--wouldn' tcha know it?--meets next to the boxing ring. While the rough-and-tumble boxing coach terms Billy' s boxing a disgrace to his gloves, the brassy, chainsmoking Mrs. Wilkinson (Julie Walters) admires Billy' s "nice, pretty arms" and invites him to be the class' s only boy.

It turns out Billy' s a natural dancer--good enough that Mrs. Wilkinson volunteers to prepare him to audition for the Royal Ballet School in London--and I' m not going to tell you the result. I will tell you, though, that Billy' s choice to pursue dance has consequences.

His father is furious, Billy wonders whether he' s a "poof" (a subplot handled with grace via a cross-dressing schoolchum), and even Mrs. Wilkinson develops her doubts. Meanwhile, dance is becoming Billy' s only outlet for his developing rage, one he' s loath to relinquish.

Jamie Bell, the 13-year-old English actor who plays Billy, was cast from over 2,000 boys and had no professional acting experience, although he' s been dancing since age 6. One might wonder exactly how his herky-jerky, athletic dance style relates to ballet, but it is eminently watchable, and his winning, triangular smile lights up any scene it graces.

Julie Walters (Educating Rita) infuses Mrs. Wilkinson with great warmth, strength and sympathy, and British character actor Gary Lewis (My Name is Joe) plays a compelling working class dad struggling with unemployment and grief over the loss of his wife. The film marks an auspicious screen directing debut for experienced stage director Stephen Daldry--his theater credits include An Inspector Calls and David Hare' s Via Dolorosa. The cinematography--tight shots of the workers and their anger, juxtaposed against a whirling Billy--is smart and expressive.

But back to the Jewish part. In his little town, Billy is clearly "the other." No other boy in town would be caught dead in a ballet class, but Billy can' t suppress his desire to dance. Similarly, when Jewish, one is inevitably reminded that he is in fact Jewish, and therefore distinctive.

Billy's instinct to dance was always present, and his choice to act on this instinct, despite the consequences, was difficult. At one point, Billy complains to Mrs. Wilkinson of feeling like a sissy, to which she replies, "Well, don' t act like one, then." It comes down to self-confidence. Throughout history, both (male) dancers and Jews have been marginalized, and it is a courageous choice to be what you are and proud of it.

Billy Elliot: Directed by Stephen Daldry, written by Lee Hall. Starring Julie Walters, Jamie Bell, Gary Lewis, Jamie Draven, Stuart Wells. Running time:110 minutes. Rated R (for language). Released 13 October in selected cities, nationwide 3 November.