‘The Duke‘ (2020) is one of those films whose fate was influenced by the pandemic. Filming was finished before the isolation periods and the film managed to premiere at the Venice Film Festival, which that year took place in a ‘restricted format’. It was to be released on screens, but screenings were postponed several times due to the periods of isolation imposed by the pandemic. When it was finally released in theaters in February 2022, director Roger Michell had died. It was his last feature film, not counting a documentary about Elizabeth II, also released posthumously, in 2022, the jubilee year and the year of the queen’s death. ‘The Duke‘ is therefore a kind of final chapter, a suitable film for a director who specialized in ‘good feeling’ films, even when he made dramas or documentaries.
‘The Duke‘ is based on a true story and brings to screen – quite faithfully – a character who existed and lived his moment of fame in the early 60s. It could only happen in Britain. Kempton Bunton was a war veteran who fought for all kinds of good causes and who was always fired from various jobs because of his attitudes and loose mouth. One of the causes was the exemption from paying the television tax for those who were not interested in the programs of the government-related BBC station. The hero in the film is ready to go to jail just to avoid paying the tax. When he sees (on television but on an independent station program!) that the government is paying 140 thousand pounds to keep in England the portrait of the Duke of Wellington painted by Goya, he calculates how many television subscriptions could be paid for with this money and decides. .. to steal the painting from the National Gallery. The painting lands at his home where he has to hide it in the closet with the help of his son, to keep it away from the eyes of his wife, a patient woman who has almost reached the end of her patience due to her husband’s adventures. His request for ransom is not answered, and after a while he decides to return the portrait to the museum. He is arrested and the trial becomes exactly the opportunity he had been seeking until then without success to plead his case publicly.
So we are dealing in ‘The Duke‘ with a combination of social comedy, art heist movie and court film. The film gets off slowly and it takes a while for us to connect with the character, but once we’re in the orbit of sympathy for Kempton Bunton we can’t get out. Jim Broadbent even manages to overshadow Helen Mirren, which is a remarkable achievement. I don’t think we should be too surprised when we take into account the fact that both actors have an Oscar statuette on their shelves and that Broadbent has delighted us in just about every role he has played on screen. It is said that Michell did not want anyone else in the role and was ready to abandon the project if the participation of the desired actor could not be secured. Fortunately for us, they succeeded. In the real world, following this case, the British Criminal Code was changed to prevent others from following Bunton’s example and borrowing works of art from museums for good causes. Television taxes were only repealed decades later. And after a few more decades this film was made, a film that I recommend to all fans of good comedies with heroes who do anything for the causes they believe in.