Ballet Shoes (2007)

Ballet Shoes is a sweet little period drama/made-for-tv movie that stars the always lovely Emma Watson in what I believe is her first non-Harry Potter role. Interestingly, another of the characters is played by the actor (Richard Griffiths) who plays Harry's insufferable uncle in the Potter films. He's a considerable bit more tolerable in this role, in which he plays a globe-trotting paleontologist who raises an orphaned girl, and then leaves her with three more orphans to raise while he's away. Of those three girls, Pauline (played by Emma) aspires to be an actress (first in the theater, then in motion pictures), Petrova wants to learn to fly (in airplanes, that is), and little Posy likes to dance.

The three girls pursue their interests, and in their great uncle's absence, they struggle to make ends meet as the money set out for them runs out. They rent rooms in the house, and the girls try their best to get parts in local plays, to earn some dough. It's a pleasantly girly film, between Pauline's stage acting (including dress-up) and Posy's ballet lessons, although Petrova is more of a tomboy, who'd rather be working on cars (gotta have some balance, eh?). Emma looks fantastic, as usual. I love the way she talks with her eyebrows. It's so charming. She has such a wonderfully expressive face. And pretty, too, of course. Posy is also pretty, as a spirited but graceful ballerina. I like how dedicated she is to her goal of becoming a great dancer.

For me, vain as I am, the main draw of the film was the vast array of prettiness on display. Here's a sample of what you can expect: