The relationship between the two is full of the creases and wrinkles that age them. She is, even after decades of marriage, just a little willing to believe his not-so-little white lies. He can bear to tell his wife Dorothy, played by Helen Mirren, the truth only part of the time. Prone to outrage, he offends bosses and defends colleagues in equal measure, only to find himself soon hitting the streets for another source of income. Though earnest, Kempton’s crusade is something of a folly, as is his work history. And in 2020, the availability of those free signals for pensioners was reduced by two-thirds. The BBC charged a license fee for its broadcast, and only in 2000 were its signals made free for seniors 75 and over-at an estimated cost of $745 million to the government. His Kempton is on a crusade for free TV for pensioners. Michell treats us to the days and weeks leading up to the heist, giving Broadbent, who plays Kempton with a feistiness and grit that can turn to an easy charm, plenty of room and time to shine.
On the surface, The Duke’s is a simple story, but the truth of the matter is far deeper-and more satisfying. The theft and subsequent trial-where the late Roger Michell’s last film begins before its flashbacks-are the stuff of British legend. The Duke’s story is set in historical fact: in 1961, England was collectively mortified by the shock theft of the famous Goya portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London-the only theft in the Gallery’s history! Kempton Bunton, a 60-year-old taxi driver, unpublished playwright, and outspoken advocate for the elderly, sent ransom notes for the painting, asking for better care for pensioners in exchange, and later confessed to the crime. So for those looking for more heart than heist, more charm than crime, please, please, please watch Roger Michell’s The Duke, a clever, thought-provoking historical comedy-drama featuring what may turn out to be a career-defining performance from the always-excellent Jim Broadbent. Rarely, though, do heist films offer much beyond those thrills. There’s a rush to trying to outwit and outsmart the onscreen criminals and their elaborate plans, a joy in seeing them outpace their pursuers.
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