Movie Review: The Duke

The last film from the late director Roger Michell (Notting Hill [1999]), the simple tale of a man and an art heist entitled The Duke, is one of the most enchanting and heart-warming films of the year. 

Michell’s film tells the story of 60-year-old taxi driver, Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent), who, in 1961 removed Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. Bunton then sent ransom notes demanding that the government put aside more money for the care of the elderly if the museum wanted the painting returned. The truth was far from the tall tales that Kempton told on a daily basis to any within earshot. The only certainty of the entire affair was that Kempton was a good man intent on keeping his marriage, and family intact. 

As directed by Michell (whose additional work includes notable pieces such as Venus [2006] and My Cousin Rachel [2017]), the film moves briskly between flashbacks and current events to properly paint the picture that Kempton finds himself in. First-time feature screenwriters Richard Bean and Clive Coleman succeed in conveying Kempton’s story as one of a modern-day Robin Hood who, although perhaps a little too fanatical about some of his passions, has his heart in the right place and ultimately strives to do the right thing by the people he cares about. 

Jim Broadbent in “The Duke.” Courtesy Warner Bros.

Broadbent is brilliant as the pseudo-hero of the story. Likewise, Helen Mirren delivers an equally impressive performance as his wife Lilya Frances. Once the story shifts to the tale of Bunton’s trial, additional players such as Simon Hubbard (PC Myton) and Michael Adams (PC Inverdale) take turns borrowing the spotlight from Broadbent, albeit briefly, showcasing the talented ensemble assembled here. 

Crisp editing courtesy of Kristina Hetherington helps the film move at a lively clip and the shift to the trial in the second half of the film allows the film more depth in story and character than would have been afforded had it been solely about either event. 

Roger Michell’s uplifting tale of an everyman who bests the system by pointing out its flaws and makes his own a source of growth and learning in the process, coupled with an outstanding performance from Jim Broadbent as the film’s central character, make The Duke a stirring theatrical experience. 

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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