Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
In 1961, a 60-year-old taxi driver stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery’s history. What happened next became the stuff of legend.
The Duke is a warm, gently comic true-story film elevated considerably by Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren's performances, which bring real depth and charm to Kempton Bunton and his long-suffering wife. The plot is engaging as a quirky slice of British social history but doesn't transcend its 'eccentric working-class hero vs. the establishment' framework. Cinematography is competent and period-appropriate without being visually distinctive. Novelty is moderate — the story itself is genuinely unusual but the film tells it in a fairly conventional crowd-pleaser style. The ending, drawing on the real courtroom drama, is satisfying and touching without being truly surprising.