The Duke (2020 film)


The Duke is an upcoming comedy-drama film directed by Roger Michell, from a screenplay by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman. It stars Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren, Fionn Whitehead, Matthew Goode and Anna Maxwell Martin.
It will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September 2020. It is scheduled to be released on 6 November 2020.

Premise

In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60 year old taxi driver, stole Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. He sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly. What happened next became the stuff of legend. An uplifting true story about a good man who set out to change the world and managed to save his marriage.

Cast

It was announced in October 2019 that a film about the 1961 theft of the Portrait of the Duke of Wellington was in development, with Jim Broadbent starring as the thief Kempton Bunton, and Helen Mirren playing his wife. Roger Michell was set to direct. Fionn Whitehead was added the next month.
Filming began in January 2020, with Matthew Goode joining the cast.

Release

The film will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September 2020. It is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom on 6 November 2020.