Billy Elliot

What's a boy to do when his mom is dead, his dad's a basketcase and he's taken one too many arse whoopings in boxing class? As A Taste of Honey so aptly noted in their immortal disco anthem, "You've got to boogie oogie oogie til you just can't boogie no more."

Set against a bitter coal miners' strike in Durham County, England, Billy Elliot follows the title character's painfully self-conscious transition from boxing gloves to ballet slippers. Sure, he's a down-and-out kid with no training, but he's got dreams of balletic brilliance and the face of an angel. Luckily, in movies, that seems to be all it takes.

This schlocky, all-too-familiar frame is Full Monty meets Flashdance. But Billy Elliot tackles its frivolous subject matter with intelligence and remarkable restraint. Even as Billy triumphs and breaks free of his oppressive surroundings, the film turns its gaze on those who are not so lucky, who are left in the mines doing hard labor for low wages. The brilliance of the film is that it never forgets that even as one boy transcends his impoverished existence, an entire town is left in his wake.

In this tragically bad movie season, audiences are desperate for a "feel-good movie" of the year. Luckily, Billy Elliot feels better than it is.