An exquisite, ecstatic film, crude in its characterizations and plotting, yes, but extraordinary in its capacity for elation and its hard-earned sentimentality.
90
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Bell explodes onscreen in a performance that cuts to the heart without sham tearjerking. Look for Billy to blast off.
88
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
You'd be hard-pressed to find a purer expression of rapture in a film this year than the one that opens Billy Elliot.
88
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
A triumph that deserves a broad audience.
88
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Bell is utterly persuasive as the boy literally yearning to leap beyond the oppressively apparent confines of his world.
80
Film.comRobert Horton
Film.comRobert Horton
Director Stephen Daldry gets it right.
75
New York PostJonathan Foreman
New York PostJonathan Foreman
An uplifting, crowd-pleasing film in the tradition of "The Full Monty" that could easily win Oscar nominations for both its 11-year-old star, Jamie Bell, and first-time director, Stephen Daldry.
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Compared to manipulative tearjerkers like "Pay It Forward" or "Men of Honor," Billy Elliot is a model of restraint, one that earns its warmth the hard way -- by making us care about the people who are going through familiar steps.
60
SlateDavid Edelstein
SlateDavid Edelstein
There's too much miserable reality and not a lot of transcendent dance, and the director, Stephen Daldry, doesn't cover the action from enough angles.