Broadbent stars as Kempton Bunton, a retired bus driver under the weight of financial pressures, who steals the painting from the National Gallery in protest of the treatment of the elderly in the UK.
Returning to Newcastle with the painting to his shellshocked wife Dorothy (Mirren), Kempton begins a campaign of demands against the governement, building to a well-documented trial, as a wave of public support begins to gather…
British cinema doesn’t get more stirringly joyous and crowd-pleasing; featuring a golden cast of talent, including winning support from Matthew Goode (The Imitation Game) and Anna Maxwell Martin (Line of Duty), and drawing from a whip-smart script from playwrights Richard Bean and Clive Coleman, The Duke is an utter delight, and a wonderful final feature for its late, much-missed director Roger Michell (Notting Hill).