"...A heartwarming, toe-tapping delight....Daldry elicits a star-making turn from 14-year-old newcomer Jamie Bell..." -- 4 out of 5 stars
Total Film "...Stephen Daldry anchors [the film's] melodramatic formula in tough, heartfelt realism....Jamie Bell [conveys a] convincing mixture of sullenness and innocent charm..."
New York Times "...An inspirational Brit-prole dance fable..."
Entertainment Weekly "...Gracefully executed....The fleet-footed BILLY ELLIOT illustrates how classic storylines, in the right hands, can work over and over again..."
Box Office "...Jimmy Bell is an engaging Billy, earnest and high-spirited, and a pretty good dancer, too..."
Chicago Sun-Times "...If Dickens had written FLASHDANCE after seeing THE FULL MONTY, it probably would have come out something like this infectious, feel-good bundle of ambition in the face of adversity..." -- 3.5 out of 4 stars
USA Today "...Daldry scores a sensational film debut....Bell explodes onscreen in a performance that cuts to the heart..."
Rolling Stone