The Duke is one of those movies with a sociable heart where a charming bum can become a hero ★★★★☆

Roger Michell (65) practically died in harness, last September, a few weeks after The Duke premiered at the Venice Festival. It is the very last film of the South African-born British diplomat’s son, who has played the romantic comedy Notting Hill (1999) directed his biggest hit.

The visitor figures of The Duke may not come close to that. But this quintessentially British comedy, based on a true painting robbery in the 1960s, also bears witness to Michell’s talent for uniting the comic and the tragic. Such a film with a good and sociable heart, in which a charming English bum from the lower class can become a hero.

‘Not guilty,’ pleads Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent) as he faces court for the robbery of Goya’s general’s portrait The Duke† But the painting stolen from the National Gallery was indeed in the home of the recently fired taxi driver and unpublished playwright, hidden behind a double wall of cupboards. Bunton sent anonymous letters to the government and tabloids: he would return the portrait acquired by the state ‘in national interest’, provided that the state coughed up an equal amount for the viewing and listening fees of poor English elderly people. Bunton, busy for years with barely noticed petitions about this TV license quest, preferred a prison sentence rather than complying with the demands.

The court scenes in The Duke are very amusing, with the suspect, who rises into his rogue role and sometimes a bit clownish, as the centerpiece. But Michell puts the heart of his comedy in Bunton’s ailing family life: this is a man who has nothing to do with his own life. Full of noble intentions, but also irresponsible. The mouth full of principles, which his slavish wife (Helen Mirren) can’t afford to be a maid. Meanwhile, their two sons skim the edges of the petty criminal. There is also a dark line through the story: a daughter who died in an accident, the guilt of the parents.

Michell narrowed down two ideal protagonists: Broadbent, with his roguish glance, is one of those men who forgives you much, if not all. But Mirren also gets under the skin, grumbling and tired, close to despair with this impossible husband for whom she, sometimes just visible, still harbors warm feelings.

The Duke slows down a bit in the middle, to take an unexpected turn at the end, also true and extremely cleverly incorporated. Those who are going to see the film would do well to avoid the wikipedia page about the robbery beforehand.