ReelBob: ‘The Duke’ ★★★½
By Bob Bloom
“The Duke” is a Robin Hood-esque tale — based on a true story — about a Don Quixote-like individual who tilts, not at windmills, but at what he perceives to be inequities in Britain’s 1960s social fabric that burdens the poor, veterans and others disenfranchised.
Jim Broadbent exudes wit, charm and an idealistic zeal as Kempton Bunton, a 60ish resident of Newcastle, who is more of a dreamer than a worker.
He continually loses jobs — being fired as a taxi driver for talking too much and allowing a veteran to ride for free, and as a bakery worker for standing up to his supervisor’s bigotry toward a Pakistani-born co-worker.
Bunton is a social activist, continually protesting the television-licensing fees the government charges people to watch the BBC. He also is a prolific playwright, though none of his works has ever been produced.
He lives in a cramped home with his long-suffering wife, Dorothy (Helen Mirren), who to help with expenses, cleans houses.
She is continually frustrated and angered by her husband’s antics, yet a loving bond — and a family tragedy — binds them.
Bunton’s tipping point is when he hears the announcement by British officials that the government paid 140,000 pounds for Goya’s early 19th-century painting of the Duke of Wellington — commonly referred to as The Duke.
Bunton rails against the injustice of spending such a sum for a painting instead of using it for free television access for the nation’s OAPs — old-age pensioners.
Bunton’s antics, which constantly embarrass Dorothy, reach their zenith when Bunton decides to “borrow” the painting. His plan is to return it in exchange for 140,000 pounds, which will be used to help the poor.
Director Roger Michell, who died last year at 65, offers some witty sequences of police officials explaining how the culprit is a sophisticated international art theft ring, which makes Bunton choke when he hears that on the telly.
Bunton and his son, Jackie (a sweet Fionn Whitehead), build a hiding place for the painting, so Dorothy — who definitely would make her husband return it — cannot find it.
“The Duke” is neither a heist nor caper feature. That is secondary to the dynamics of the Bunton household and the family’s fractious, but loving, relationships.
Dorothy is a morally stern woman who objects to her other son running around with a married, but separated, woman, while she also keeps strict tabs on Jackie’s employment status and whereabouts.
The movie rests on the performances by Broadbent and Mirren. His Kempton Bunton amuses and amazes you. You admire his commitments to battling his perceived injustices, even if you question his methods.
Mirren’s Dorothy has a big heart; she continually puts up with her husband’s various causes, while chiding him for not having the same passion for his own family.
“The Duke” is a crowd-pleasing, sweet, sentimental and a little messy story about an individual’s responsibility to his neighbor, even if the cost is more than he can pay.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.
THE DUKE
3½ stars out of 4
(R), language, sexual situations