The Duke (12A)
Directed by Roger Michell 

IT IS just over 60 years since an ordinary working-class Englishman stuck it to the man by stealing a masterpiece from London’s National Gallery — the first and only theft in its 197-year-history — in his campaign for free TV licences for the elderly.

Sixty-one year old wannabe playwright and social activist from Newcastle Kempton Bunton’s (Jim Broadbent) staunch beliefs in community, interconnectedness and the fact that we are all responsible for each other — “I’m not me without you,” he advocates — has become even more poignant during the Covid pandemic.

Based on a remarkable true story with a sharp and witty screenplay by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman, director Roger Michell’s (Notting Hill, Venus) final film is a rousing and uplifting Ealing comedy-styled crime caper which explores social injustice, the disparity between the classes and standing up for what is right. 

In 1961 Bunton stole Francisco de Goya’s The Duke of Wellington, which he kept hidden for four years at the back of his wardrobe with the help of his youngest son Jackie (Fionn Whitehead), and which he held ransom to raise money for his charitable campaign.

Angry that the government had bought the painting for £140,000 (£3 million in today’s money), Bunton argued that it could have instead paid for thousands of free TV licences a year for OAPs.

Bunton had served time for refusing to pay for one himself, protesting that it was an unfair tax on the old — as well as not being able to get the BBC on his set.

Broadbent delivers another brilliant performance as this charming, lovable and very funny twinkle-in-his-eye dreamer Bunton — a cross between Robin Hood and Don Quixote — who also stood up to racial bigotry at work, while the magnificent Helen Mirren plays his long-suffering pragmatist wife, who holds the family together despite refusing to discuss the tragic loss of their daughter, 13 years earlier.

Bookended by some gripping court scenes at the Old Bailey, Bunton’s barrister’s (Matthew Goode) creative defence leading to a change in the law, this is a wonderfully entertaining and moving tale which is still relevant today. Michell can be very proud. 

Maria Duarte

In cinemas