In 1961, Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent), a 60-year old taxi driver, stole Goya?s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery’s history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly – he had long campaigned for pensioners to receive free television. What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge – Kempton had spun a web of lies. The only truth was that he was a good man, determined to change the world and save his marriage – how and why he used the Duke to achieve that is a wonderfully uplifting tale. Roger Michell, the son of a British diplomat, was born in South Africa and as a child lived in Beirut, Damascus and Prague. He is a theatre and film director. His films include PERSUASION, MY NIGHT WITH REG, TITANIC TOWN, NOTTING HILL, CHANGING LANES, THE MOTHER, VENUS, ENDURING LOVE, MORNING GLORY, HYDE PARK ON HUDSON, LE WEEK-END, MY COUSIN RACHEL, NOTHING LIKE A DAME and BLACKBIRD. Runtime: 96 minutes Directed by Roger Michell Written by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman Produced by Nicky Bentham Starring Jim Broadbent Helen Mirren Fionn Whitehead Anna Maxwell Martin Matthew Goode Jake Bandeira Aimée Kelly and Charlotte Spencer

The post The Duke: Starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren first appeared on HollywoodNews.com.