Billy Elliot

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I've been watching the fourth season of The Crown on Netflix. Our next Rialto Recommends takes a look at the effect of Margaret Thatcher's policies through the impact on one family. Like our previous recommendation, Pride, BILLY ELLIOT tells a specific story in which Thatcher's England is the time. Set against the background of the 1984 Miners' Strike, 11-year-old Billy Elliot stumbles out of the boxing ring and onto the ballet floor. He faces many trials and triumphs as he strives to conquer his family's set ways, inner conflict, and standing on his toes. The Village Voice raved "By setting this intimate conflict against a wider social drama, (Director Stephan) Daldry makes his portrait of a dancer all the more compelling." The Detroit News commented "A model of purposefulness; a movie rich, but not lost, in background detail and fair-minded in its account of Thatcherite woes to the working class." While Salon rang in with "A surprisingly wise and funny meditation on the nature of what it truly means to be a man." BILLY ELLIOT is available to rent for a modest fee from Apple, Amazon, GooglePlay, YouTube, Vudu and many others. Whether you've seen it before or never had the joy of seeing BILLY ELLIOT check out this gem which spawned the career of its young star Jamie Bell and created a bit of a cottage industry with the WestEnd musical that became a worldwide sensation. Plus the always wonderful Julie Walters co-stars as BIlly's first dance teacher. Powerful and wonderful.