Film review of 'Billy Elliot'

Short summary:
In the film ‘Billy Elliot’, 11 year old boy Billy is bought up into an economically repressed mining town. In a small cramped house, in northern England, he lives with his father, his brother and his grandmother. Like most men in the town his father and brother works in the local mine. But due to cutbacks from the government they are on a strike. Billy goes to boxing in his spare time, to make his father proud. But he soon discovers his interest in dancing, and not just any dancing, but ballet. For a long time he hides this from his father, and when he is at ballet dancing he tells his pap that he is at boxing practice. But after a while his father discovers Billy's secret and is furious. His father doesn't want his son to dance, "cause boys don't dance, they wrestle!". But as time progresses his father comes to terms with Billy's wish to become a ballet dancer. And it turns out that Billy is also very good at it, and is recommended to go to the Royal Ballet School in London. But his family can't afford to send him to the school. Ultimately his father breaks the picket line, to get money for Billy. But Billy's older brother sees their father break the line, and runs over to stop him. They decide that they have to make the money in a different way. Again time passes and they get the money. After a hard tryout in a school where Billy feels like a total mismatch, he is accepted and gets to live his dream.
Setting and Characterization:
Setting: The story is very much influenced by the setting. It takes place in a poor average mining town in Northern England during the time Margaret Thatcher ruled the Government (1979-1990). The entire movie is built up around the cutbacks that happened during that era.
Billy: The main character of the film is Billy. Billy is an 11 year old boy with a passion for dance. But he is also afraid to stand up to his family, and therefore hides the fact that he takes ballet classes. Billy is a strong and inspirational individual who fights for his dreams. It is unknown how or when his mother died.
Jack: Jack is Billy's father. The story of 'Billy Elliot' is as much Jack’s as it is Billy’s. Because the story tells about a quick-tempered man who is traumatized by the loss of his wife and monetary repercussions of the mining strike. But he is the one that comes furthest and grows the most during the development. At the beginning of the film, you would have never expected Jack to be sitting, crying, at a ballet show starring his own son.
Tony: Tony is a very introverted, aggressive and masculine person. He is afraid to show his emotions, and is hard to get to know. To him ballet is very emasculating and only for homosexuals. Although his character too does develop during the movie, he is still a very introverted person towards the end.
Theme:
The theme has often been seen before and is basically about overcoming your natural boundaries and limitations. It is presented in such a way, that no one would ever expect a little boy from a poor family in a little mining town, to be able to get into the Royal Ballet School in London. But it shows that if you follow your dream, and have the talent, it doesn't matter where you are born. And as portrayed in Jack it is also about making room for others dream and be open-minded and not just go "boys don't dance, they wrestle!”