Billy Elliot is a British Social Realism film, which is about a young boy, Billy, who wishes to be a ballet dancer, much to the objection of his father and brother at the start. His dad wanted him to do a masculine sport such as football, wrestling or boxing. This is happening during the miners strike during 1984-1985. Billy Elliot is set in run-down locations connoting to the poverty that people face during the times. Most or all of the characters are working class people, this is denoted clearly by the average clothes worn by them all. This adds to the realism of the movie, as people can see and know what it was like to live in tougher conditions than it is today in the current society.
Lighting
The lighting at the earlier stages of Billy Elliot tend to be dark and eerie, which fitted with the scenes. For example, when Billy's dad found out that Billy wanted to be a ballet dancer, he was furious and the lighting was extremely gloomy. Consequently, this allowed the audience to feel sympathy for Billy, as they know that he is going through a tough period. However, in the later stages of Billy Elliot, when his dad realizes the true talent his son has over ballet, he reconsiders his feelings towards it. As Billy is happily dancing, the lighting becomes much more brighter, connoting to his joy of finally doing something he loves and enjoys. This allows the audience to personally identify with Billy. This is because you should always do something you want to do, it isn't anybody else' choice but your own.
Actors
Billy Elliot's dad is clearly shown to have a strong Scottish accent, with Billy and nearly the rest of the actors having a Geordie accent. This adds to the realism of the film because set in the North East, where the miners' strike, rioting and protesting was the worst. Furthermore, all of the actors are white: no blacks, Asians or Caucasians in the film. This again adds realism to the movie, as you would only expect white people rioting during the coal miners strike. If the actors didn't match the realism of the movie, people would be discouraged of watching the movie.
Color
The color follows the same principle of the lighting in Billy Elliot, at the earlier parts of the movie, the colors are really dark and unappealing, however this improves later on in the movie. For example, when Billy is reluctantly boxing, the colors depicting this is rather dark and gloomy. This connotes of how much he doesn't want to do the sport and conveys his unhappiness of doing it. Later on, when Billy Elliot is enjoying doing ballet, and is feeling a sense of joy the colors change from dark to bright, just like the lighting. This connotes, the contrast of feelings he felt during the two times, first he was really uncomfortable but later on as he was doing ballet his feelings was the complete opposite.
Era
As mentioned again, Billy Elliot is set in 1984-1985 during the coal miners' strike. It shows many people rioting against the wage cuts that was occurring during the time. The facilities of the gym and the homes of the working class people was really worn out, this connotes to the lack of money and resources had during the time. This adds to the realism of the film, as most people back in the time of the coal miners' strike had low finances but an abundance of financial problems.
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