I've been choked up by a film here and there, but it's been a while since a film put tears in the eyes of this reviewer (not even "Dancer in the Dark" did that). But it wasn't just me, applause could be heard at the screening's close and then again a reprise of clapping at the end of the credits.

Billy's mom died some time ago, he shares a room with his rough brother Tony who's been picketing for many months along with half the town's miners. Dad is included in that out-of-work bunch. On this poorer side of town, fists often settle disagreements that cuss words can't bluff. It's in this environment that Billy is sent off to boxing lessons at the local gym. But in a sort of twisted convex mirror image of "Girlfight," Billy becomes much more interested in a ballet class that shares the facility.

Secretly using his boxing money for ballet, Billy must come to terms with his own dancing ambitions in the midst of family adversity and the turmoil of a town pitting riot police between strikers and scabs.

Listen carefully, juicy (often punctuated with swear words) dialogue salts this tender script. "Just because I like ballet, doesn't mean I'm a poof."

Billy to brother as they lie in bed, "Tony, you ever think 'bout death?"
Tony, "F' off."

Young friend Debbie says of her parents, "They sleep in separate beds."
Billy asks, "Why they do that?"
Debbie, "So they can't have sex."

The British dialect is thick and appropriately slang indulgent. Check out http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang as prep for the film, or just because it's amusing.

Classic bands of the seventies (T-Rex, The Clash, etc.) rock the audio track while the tough-skinned Billy gets comfortable with tap-dancing in a town of manly men. A couple of his solo dance scene's pack as much punch as the rocky family emotions this pressured group must learn to contain. Bold script, acting, direction, and strong story telling fuel this strong story.