Not every film needs a musical adaptation.
Billy Elliot the Musical is set in a northern mining town, against the background of the 1984/’85 miners’ strike, Billy Elliot is the story of a young boy’s struggle against the odds to make his dream come true. The story follows Billy’s journey as he stumbles out of the boxing ring and into a ballet class where he discovers a passion for dance that inspires his family and whole community and changes his life forever.
The first problem with this musical is the story, the original Billy Elliot movie was not a comedy, it was a serious movie with an inspirational message. The musical adaptation has added hand-fisted humour into every possible spot making it almost intolerable to watch. The story in the film is also exceptionally drawn out to the extent of being over 3 hours long.
The next issue was the musical score, Elton John wrote the music for Billy Elliot and while his music is generally quite strong for this musical he really didn’t get it right. The music was cheap and tacky, and it didn’t add any real value to the show (which is exceptionally disappointing, being a musical).
Overall I wouldn’t encourage anyone to see this movie, even fans of musical theatre (like myself) or the original movie will be appalled by this show. While in the West End it’s had over 9 million people come to the show, maybe it’s different seeing it live? Either way this broadcast certainly isn’t worth the 3 hours of your time!
1.5 Stars
Review by Benjamin Maio Mackay
Movie screening courtesy of Palace Nova Cinemas