In 1961, Kempton Bunton wasn’t asking for much in his ransom of Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington: not selfish personal riches or anything too politically radical. Just free telly for pensioners across the UK. Is that so much to ask?
Loveable British actor Jim Broadbent stars as bumbling socialist Bunton in The Duke, now playing in cinemas across Australia. The film has earned acclaim ever since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival: it’s precisely the kind of heartwarming, gently fascinating true story to brighten up your cinema outing.
Helen Mirren joins Broadbent as long-suffering wife Dorothy. When a TV news report claims that the portrait’s theft had to have been carried out by “almost certainly a trained commando”, he chokes on his biscuit. She’s clueless to her husband’s involvement in the crime until stumbling upon the priceless masterpiece in their dinky home’s cupboard.
As we see in the trailer below, Bunton doesn’t get away with the cunning art heist for too long, landing himself in court where he’s defended by a white-wigged Matthew Goode. Part of the good guys’ case may be that Bunton turned himself in after panicking at the theft’s press coverage: he walked right back into the National Gallery from where he stole the Duke and confessed.
The Duke was chosen as one of David Michael Brown’s most anticipated films to hit UK cinemas a few months ago. He especially celebrated the film’s production design and sensitive understanding of a downtrodden British people:”The era is beautifully recreated. It may have been swinging down South in London, but it was grim up North. The film, however, sees beauty and hope in the proud Buntons dour lives.”
Now, Australian viewers can enjoy this sweet British dramedy for themselves. It’s a lovely and life-affirming dramatisation of a heist, without the badass tech and team of misfits. Just one old codger of a misfit is enough here.
