Director: Stephen Daldry
Year Released: 2000
Rating: 3.0
Caught me by surprise, actually: it's a lot warmer and intriguing and less juvenile than I expected it to be from the previews/trailers/critical responses, and by the end I was more or less pleased with the direction Daldry takes it. Don't get me wrong, a lot still does not work - there are enough bad scenes to make it a flop for most people, but I was willing to look past them (most glaring: a screaming scene between Billy and his dance teacher in a bathroom does not work and only makes Billy look downright malicious; the dead-mom thing feels like a ploy; the father punching the son in the face is way too melodramatic). Its lashings at Thatcherism and the social order of England are obvious but work within the context of the picture, and most of the performances are pretty good. I was actually startled by a scene between Billy and one of his friends by a snowman not for the risks it takes but for how well it's pulled off by the young actors, and how honest it is. I could have done without the Bowie-esque last sequence, however (the picture flashes forward at least ten years without warning). Wise decision: including The Clash and (especially) T. Rex on the soundtrack ("Cosmic Dancer" makes an uplifting opening number).
