THE ART OF PROTEST (THE DUKE)

There's a type of British film that revels in working class eccentrics.

It usually sees an underdog attempt to pull off something jaw dropping against all odds - not always successfully.

Sometimes it's in the face of class snobbery and in defiance of the Establishment.

And it's usually a well observed comedy.

It's a cinematic tradition that includes such classics as 'Passport to Pimlico,' 'Whisky Galore!,' 'The Lavender Hill Mob' and 'Hue and Cry'.

That tradition has continued right through to movies like 'Educating Rita,' 'The Full Monty,' 'Billy Elliot,' 'Made in Dagenham' and 'Misbehaviour'.

The late Roger Michell's final movie 'The Duke' is very much of that ilk.

It tells the true story of Kempton Bunton, a disabled Geordie pensioner who campaigned against the elderly being forced to pay for a licence for watching TV and was imprisoned for stealing Francisco Goya's 'Portrait of the Duke of Wellington' from the National Gallery in London in 1961.

Michell's film casts Jim Broadbent, one of England's most appealing actors, as Bunton and Helen Mitten as his long suffering wife Dorothy.

Changing some of the details of Bunton's story, he is portrayed in the film as a pipe smoking, stubborn political activist whose convictions mean he has difficulty holding down a job.

Early on the film, he is fired as a taxi driver for deciding not to charge a disabled First World War veteran his fare because he can't afford it.

Later, Kempton loses another job in a bakery because he protests against the unfair treatment of a fellow worker because of his Asian background.

His big preoccupation, however, is the TV licence and the insistence on forcing pensioners to pay for the privilege of watching the BBC.

Kempton even goes to the trouble of dismantling the tube in his TV set that delivers the BBC's services, arguing if he is only watching the commercial channel ITV he cannot be prosecuted.

Dodging the licence inspectors, he is eventually taken to court and is handed a 13 day prison sentence in Durham Jail for his protest.

Meanwhile Dorothy holds down a job as a cleaner, working for Anna Maxwell Martin's kind hearted and understanding wife of a wealthy businessman and city councillor.

Mrs Bunton is often irritated by her husband's stubborn insistence on protesting injustice and goes ahead and pays the TV licence anyway.

She is exasperated too by his fixation about writing plays for the BBC which he regularly sends off, only to be rejected.

One of those plays touches upon a personal tragedy in their own lives - the loss of their 18 year old daughter Marion in a bicycle accident.

It is Kempton's way of addressing his guilt about buying the bicycle that resulted in Marion's death but Dorothy is unhappy about him turning their tragedy into a piece of fiction.

The couple have two sons.

Fionn Whitehead's Jackie is a boat builder who has a deep affection for his dad.

He starts dating Aimee Kelly's Irene and also has a ne'er do well brother, Jack Bandeira's Kenny who lives in Leeds, is involved with Charlotte Spencer's unhappily married woman Pammy and wants him to be an accomplice in a robbery.

Kenny regularly clashes with their mum who disapproves of his lifestyle.

In a bid to change the Government's mind about the TV licencing issue, Kempton sweet talks Dorothy into allowing him to go to London for two days to bring the issue directly to Parliament.

The visit will also enable him to hawk his plays at the BBC.

She agrees on the condition that it will be his last protest.

Kempton returns from London as a huge news story erupts about the theft of Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery - a painting which Kempton had railed against because the Government had purchased it instead of ploughing the money into free TV licences for pensioners.

While Richard McCabe's Home Secretary and Scotland Yard initially suspect a criminal gang, we discover the painting is in Kempton's house.

Jackie helps his dad by building a false back to a wardrobe to enable him to conceal the painting which has been removed from its frame.

Also hiding the loss of his job in the bakery from Dorothy, Kempton sees the theft as an opportunity to promote his licence campaign.

He writes anonymous letters to the Government and the Daily Mirror, insisting he will return the portrait if the elderly are given an exemption from paying for their TV licences.

But how long will it be before he is caught and prosecuted for stealing the painting?

And will the court be lenient?

Michell's film is an entertaining swansong for an accomplished theatre, film and TV director who passed away suddenly last September.

Working from an amusing screenplay by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman, it is a typical Michell movie - handsomely shot by Director of Cinematography Mike Eley and extremely well acted.

It a simple tale very well told, with two superb performances from its leads.

Broadbent is endearing as Kempton - a naive hero of deep conviction whose sense of social justice results in him being convicted.

Kempton is a head in the clouds idealist and dreamer whose sense of right and wrong regularly results in him falling foul of all kinds of authority.

However you do not doubt for one moment his love for and dependence upon Dorothy and Broadbent mines every shred of sympathy and comedy from his character's situation.

Mirren is also very amusing as Kempton's busy bullwark of a wife - generously playing second fiddle to Broadbent but grabbing attention nevertheless.

Dorothy is the glue that holds the family together, serving as its moral compass and main breadwinner.

But she does this wrestling with Kempton and Kenny's infuriating behaviour.

The chemistry between both leads is believable and it's delightful.

Whitehead does a decent job too as the well intentioned Jackie.

But, as you would expect from a Michell film, the rest of the cast turn in heartwarming performances and never miss a comic beat.

Matthew Goode deserves a special mention for his performance as Jeremy Hutchinson, the QC representing Kempton when his case eventually goes to trial.

With its affectionate underdog story and its colourful working class characters taking on the Establishment, there is a strong touch of the classic Ealing comedy about Michell's final movie.

And it holds up well against those classic Ealing tales.

As a curtain call for Michell's career, 'The Duke' is a perfect way to bow out.

The film is a bittersweet triumph - reminding us of how good he actually was and what he might have delivered had he not been taken away so unexpectedly. 

('The Duke' opened in UK and Irish cinemas on February 25, 2022)