The Duke
Warner Bros. EntertainmentKempton Bunton, the unsung Newcastle-born hero is the focus of The Duke. His odd little tale of theft and protest is brought to life by Jim Broadbent, the veteran actor out to prove like so many before him that he is capable of a convincing Geordie accent. Helen Mirren and Matthew Goode join in this senseless adventure of capturing the thick dialect of this beloved Northern city. Director Roger Michell must pair these strong and intriguing actors with some movement or moment inherent to the upon-Tyne city, a place filled with triumphant do-gooders and great characters destined to prove themselves a formidable ally to the hard-knocked population who are stamped into the dirt by uncaring bodies of governance. The Duke gets to grips with that fast and well.
Green screens and smart camera trickery is used well to relight the fires of post-war Newcastle. The Duke is an accidental pioneer in that regard. Not just because it brings an undersung part of the world to the big screen, but because of how it does this. All the sights and sounds of Durham, Newcastle and various other Tyne locations will be a great representation for the 1960s of Britain’s North-East, despite it not being set there. It does not detract from the hard work provided by Broadbent and Mirren, whose performances provide the stubborn brilliance of that older generation. They do not embrace modernity, nor do they provoke it. Unconcerned by the events of the future, but damned if they don’t try and break out of the relatively simple life they lead. They are pushed by events out of their control. Passionate for ideas they shouldn’t have any stake in, yet somehow become the centre of attention.
Its uplifting and swanky jazz tones set up the wrong ideals, but Broadbent and Mirren make quick work of that. Broadbent in particular, his senseless quest to unite a cause that matters with a social buzz is an interesting angle that sees plenty of interesting shots and adaptations of 1960s iconography from Michell. “Not very good, is it?” Bunton says of the painting he casually steals. The Duke relies on the bumbling niceties of its leading man and does so all too well. An admirable cause leads a man to take any action he would never normally think of taking, theft in the hopes it would benefit a drive for free television. It may not have worked, but the wildest schemes are often remembered for the wrong reasons. The Duke is a feature that stretches its simple story to breaking point but stops before any real damage can be done to the characters or credibility of this true story.
Relatively short and simple, but with an effective, sweet nature to it The Duke is an oddity adapted to the screen with contemporary relevance and surprising performances. These are dependable artists without anything left to prove, yet The Duke offers them the hardest gig of all: understanding the Geordie accent. They perform manfully and meaningfully, with tremendous chemistry between the two leads and strong supporting performances found elsewhere. The Duke is not memorable, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a nice film. A homely piece that will linger for a few hours on the mind, but fizzle away into obscurity, much like Kempton Bunton himself.