The Duke, Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent

THE DUKE
Starring: Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent
Directed: by Keith Michell

Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes

"A ridiculously charming British comedy" The Playlist

 

"The Duke is that rarest of things: a comedy that knows a twinkle in the eye and a fire in the belly needn't be mutually exclusive... It speaks mindfully and movingly to our own divided times – asking how institutions should best serve the public that funds them and speaking up for those who find themselves excluded by class, geography or birth. Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren...give two of the finest performances of their careers."
The Daily Telegraph ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

 

"All rise for The Duke... Roger Michell's delightful true-crime caper comes bolstered by a terrific lead performance from Jim Broadbent... What a lovely, rousing, finally moving film this is. The Duke is unashamedly sentimental and resolutely old-fashioned in the best sense of the term"
The Guardian ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

 

Inspired by true events, THE DUKE is the story of Kempton Bunton, a 60-year old taxi driver, who stole Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London.

Led by two British greats, Jim Broadbent and Dame Helen Mirren and directed by the late Roger Michell (Notting Hill, Tea with the Dames), THE DUKE is the first film to tell this extraordinary true story.

 

In 1961, Kempton Bunton, 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.

 
Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly - he had long campaigned for pensioners to receive free television.
 
What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge - Kempton had spun a web of lies. The only truth was that he was a good man, determined to change the world and save his marriage - how and why he used the Duke to achieve that is a wonderfully uplifting tale.

 

The Duke

In cinemas 31 March 2022