The Duke (2020)

Plot of The Duke: Kempton Bunton is a campaigner for rights for the elderly, and because he has a TV which cannot receive the BBC refused to pay for the licence fee. As a result he spends time in jail. And later loses his job as a taxi driver.  He has sent a script for a play to the BBC and convinces his wife that he should travel to London for a couple of days to sort everything out, and that if she gives her permission he will give up campaigning. In London he seems to make no progress, but at the time a portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Goya is being refused permission to leave the country, and has a value of £240,000. Bunton goes to the National Gallery to have a look at it, and later it seems that he has stolen it, since there it is in his house back in Newcastle, where he and his son Jackie hide it in a wardrobe. Later his eldest son’s girlfriend sees the portrait and Bunton is betrayed since she hopes to get some of the reward offered. He is put on trial for the theft. Will he go to prison?

Content: There is one non-revelatory sex act, some smoking and a bit of social drinking. There are a lot of domestic scenes and generally Bunton’s unusual view of life is revealed, as is his irritation at getting nowhere with is various campaigns. In court he suggests that the value of the portrait would pay for thousands of TV licences for old people. At the end of the film it is revealed how the portrait was stolen which was actually by entry through a lavatory window using a ladder left outside by some repair workers.

A View: This outing was well liked by the critics and probably made a bit of money due to its very moderate production cost. But it is really a bit of a thin story, relying on the quirky humour of the main character for survival. I’m not quite sure, since I saw the film on Spanish TV, what accent Jim Broadbent was using, but it did not sound to me like that of a working class Geordie. Although the film suggests that the painting was recovered after weeks in fact it was four years.

Fun Fact: In 2000 TV licences were made free for the over 75s, but this concession was removed by the BBC in 2020.