THE DUKE : Monday 2nd May 2022.

I saw the M Rated British comedy drama film 'THE DUKE' earlier this week, which is Directed by the late Roger Michell who died in late September last year, and whose previous film making credits took in 'Notting Hill' in 1999, 'Changing Lanes' in 2002, 'Venus' in 2006, 'Hyde Park on Hudson' in 2012, 'Le Week-end' in 2013, 'My Cousin Rachel' in 2017, 'Blackbird' in 2019 and the recently released documentary on the life of Queen Elizabeth II 'Elizabeth : A Portrait in Part(s)'. The film saw its World Premier screening at the September 2020 Venice Film Festival and was originally slated for an early November 2020 release in the UK before being pulled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It was then scheduled to an early September 2021 release before being pushed back again to a late February date in 2022 in the UK and a 31st March date here in Australia. It has so far taken US$11M at the Box Office and garnered positive critical acclaim. 

The film opens up with Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent) standing in the dock in an Old Bailey courtroom accused of stealing the famed portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Francisco Goya, and its frame from London's National Gallery in 1961. He pleads not guilty. We then back track six months to the spring of 1961 and from his home in Newcastle upon Tyne Kempton sends a script for a play he has written to the BBC. Following this the Television licensing authorities knock on Kempton's door demanding to see his TV license. Kempton responds saying that he has removed the tube from the back of the TV set which transmits the BBC signal, and as he is unable to watch the BBC he does not need a license. Although he can afford a TV license, he refuses to do so as part of his campaign against old age pensioners having to pay for it, which is all part of his wider strong socialist beliefs about supporting the common man.

He is then jailed for thirteen days in Durham, and upon his release he is collected by his son Jackie (Fionn Whitehead). On their way home they make a detour to visit the grave of Marion, Jackie's sister, who was killed in a bicycle accident aged only eighteen. Kempton's wife Dorothy (Helen Mirren) works as a housekeeper and babysitter for a local councillor and his wife (Anna Maxwell Martin), Jackie aims to become a boat builder and move away to California, or New Zealand or Australia, and his elder brother Kenny (Jack Bandeira) lives in Leeds, working in construction but also involved in petty crime. Kempton himself is sacked from his job as a taxi driver for being over-talkative to passengers and for giving a free ride to an impoverished disabled WWI veteran. Dorothy is sick and tired of her husbands relentless campaigning and crusades for the common man, but she reluctantly allows his to make one last trip down to London for two days to drum up press and parliamentary attention for his campaign and BBC interest in his scripts, on the condition that if he does not get that attention he will give up writing and campaigning and get a real job.

Next up we see an unseen man climbing up a ladder and entering the National Gallery via a toilet block. He sneaks around the dimly lit corridors in the dead of night, and promptly removes the painting of the Duke of Wellington. When Kempton returns from London to his home, he is seen bending over the portrait saying 'it's not very good, is it?' to Jackie. He and Jackie then make a false back to the wardrobe in which to hide the portrait from Dorothy and Kenny. Kempton then sends a number of ransom notes to the government, proclaiming that he'll return the painting on the condition that the elderly be exempted from paying for a TV licence. 

Kenny and his separated lover Pammy (Charlotte Spencer) come to visit his parents and she notices the painting in the wardrobe after snooping around. She reveals this to Kempton in private and threatens to blackmail him unless she gets half of the £5,000 reward on offer. Panicked, Kempton goes home and begins to wrap up the painting in brown paper when in walks Dorothy to the room. She is perplexed and angry at Kempton for stealing the portrait and lying to her and orders him out of the house. Kempton then walks into the National Gallery in the middle of the day and returns the painting to the nearest security guard and confesses to the theft.

The case against Kempton seems destined to go against him, but his barrister Jeremy Hutchinson (Matthew Goode) defends him on the basis that he did not intend to deprive the National Gallery of it permanently, but instead simply 'borrowed' it to further his campaign, an impression Kempton backs up by a verbose testimony under cross-examination by Hutchinson at the end of the trial, and which causes much hilarity amongst the jurists, the other barristers in attendance and the members of the public gathered in the gallery up above looking on.

During the early stages of the trial, which is widely reported on the TV news, Jackie confesses to his mother that it had in fact been him who stole it for his father to use in his campaign, with his father covering up for him and taking the blame. Soon afterwards the jury acquits Kempton of all charges except the theft of the £80 picture frame, which Jackie had removed from the painting at his London lodgings, placed under his bed, forgot about it and then subsequently lost. After his three-month sentence, Dorothy is waiting for Kempton outside the gates of Durham Prison. He and Dorothy forgive each other over how they had mishandled their grief at Marion's death, after she read his draft of a play he had written titled 'Girl on a Bicycle'. 

Four years later Jackie admits his guilt to the Police, but the Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police Joe Simpson (Charles Edwards) and the Director of Public Prosecutions fear that a new trial could lead to Kempton being called as a witness and again becoming an embarrassing case of widespread public interest. They therefore agree that if Jackie does not go public they will not prosecute. Jackie elated by this news, on the spot proposes to his long term girlfriend Irene (Aimee Kelly) who accepts instantly. 

Before the end credits roll, text states that the frame was never recovered, that no plays by Bunton were ever produced, and that in 2000 TV licences were made free to those over 75 years of age.

In his final feature film outing here Director Roger Michell has crafted a fine retelling of the only art theft in the National Gallery's history that is underpinned by exemplary performances by its two lead Actors - Broadbent and Mirren. Make no mistake this is a typically British story that only the Brits can make and that Hollywood has long since forgotten how to make. It's a tale of the little man rising up against a society that would otherwise crush him, of racial prejudice, of social inequality, of marital woes, of lies and deceit, but one that offers up hope, redemption and forgiveness. It's a feel good family movie, a real crowd pleaser and a throw back to the Ealing comedies of yesteryear, and there ain't nothing wrong with that!

'The Duke' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 31st March 2022.

The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honoured the best films released between 1st March and 31st December 2021, and was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, on Sunday 27th March hosted by American Actresses Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes.

Aside form the now infamous slap to the face given by Will Smith to Chris Rock which largely overshadowed the remaining proceedings, the winners of the golden statue and the also rans are as given below, by way of a recap :-

Best Picture

* Awarded to 'CODA', beating out 'Belfast', 'Don't Look Up', 'Drive My Car', 'Dune', 'King Richard', 'Licorice Pizza', 'Nightmare Alley', 'The Power of the Dog' and 'West Side Story'. 

Best Director

* Awarded to Jane Campion for 'The Power of the Dog', beating out Kenneth Branagh for 'Belfast', Ryusuke Hamaguchi for 'Drive My Car', Paul Thomas Anderson for 'Licorice Pizza' and Steven Spielberg for 'West Side Story'.

Best Actor

* Awarded to Will Smith for 'King Richard', beating out Javier Bardem for 'Being the Ricardos', Benedict Cumberbatch for 'The Power of the Dog', Andrew Garfield for 'Tick, Tick... Boom!' and Denzel Washington for 'The Tragedy of Macbeth'.

Best Actress

* Awarded to Jessica Chastain for 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye', beating out Olivia Colman for 'The Lost Daughter', Penelope Cruz for 'Parallel Mothers', Nicole Kidman for 'Being the Ricardos' and Kristen Stewart for 'Spencer'.

Best Supporting Actor

* Awarded to Troy Kotsur for 'CODA', beating out Ciaran Hinds for 'Belfast', Jesse Plemons for 'The Power of the Dog', J. K. Simmons for 'Being the Ricardos' and Kodi Smit-McPhee for 'The Power of the Dog'.

Best Supporting Actress

* Awarded to Ariana DeBose for 'West Side Story', beating out Jessie Buckley for 'The Lost Daughter', Judi Dench for 'Belfast', Kirsten Dunst for 'The Power of the Dog' and Aunjanue Ellis for 'King Richard'.

Best Original Screenplay

* Awarded to 'Belfast' by Kenneth Branagh, beating out 'Don't Look Up', 'King Richard', 'Licorice Pizza' and 'The Worst Person in the World'.

Best Adapted Screenplay

* Awarded to 'CODA' by Sian Heder, beating out 'Drive My Car', 'Dune', 'The Lost Daughter' and 'The Power of the Dog'. 

Best Animated Feature Film

* Awarded to 'Encanto', beating out 'Flee', 'Luca', 'The Mitchells vs. the Machines' and 'Raya and the Last Dragon'. 

Best International Feature Film 

* Awarded to 'Drive My Car' from Japan, beating out 'Flee' from Denmark, 'The Hand of God' from Italy, 'Lunana : A Yak in the Classroom' from Bhutan and 'The Worst Person in the World' from Norway.

Best Documentary Feature Film

* Awarded to 'Summer of Soul (. . . Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised!)', beating out 'Ascension', 'Attica', 'Flee' and 'Writing with Fire'.

In the other awards, 'Dune' was presented with the Oscar for Best Original Score to Hans Zimmer; Best Sound; Best Production Design; Best Cinematography for Greig Fraser; Best Film Editing and Best Visual Effects.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling was awarded to 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye'; Best Costume Design was awarded to 'Cruella' and Best Original Song went to 'No Time To Die' from 'No Time To Die' by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell.

The Governors Awards were presented to Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May and Liv Ullman each with an Honorary Academy Award and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was presented to Danny Glover. 

 

For all the information, details, glitz and glamour of Hollywood's Night of Nights, you can visit the official website at : https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2022

This week then to tempt you out to your local Odeon, we have four new movie offerings kicking off with a Superhero film based on a Marvel character that sees a biochemist who tries to cure himself of a rare blood disease, inadvertently infecting himself with a form of vampirism instead. This is followed by a story set in 1961 in which a sixty year old taxi driver, steals Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. Next we have the sequel to a 2020 film about a blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds, and when his arch rival returns to Earth with a new ally, this hedgehog and his new friend is all that stands in their way. And we close out the week with an animated feature about a bunch of reformed yet misunderstood criminal animals who attempt to become good, with some disastrous results along the way.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'MORBIUS' (Rated M) - this American Superhero film features the Marvel Comics character Morbius, the Living Vampire, and is the third film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe following 'Venom' in 2018 and 'Venom : Let There Be Carnage' in 2021. Directed by Daniel Espinosa whose previous feature film credits include 'Safe House' in 2012, 'Child 44' in 2015 and 'Life' in 2017, this film saw its World Premier screening in Mexico City on 10th March before its release in the US and Australia this week. Originally slated for a 10th July 2020 release, the film was delayed several times before ending up on this weeks schedule largely due to the impacts of COVID-19. Costing US$75M to produce, early critical reaction has been less than positive. 

Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and determined to save others suffering his same fate, biochemist Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) attempts a desperate gamble. While at first it seems to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed in the form of vampirism. Will good override evil - or will Morbius succumb to his mysterious new urges? Also starring Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, Tyrese Gibson, Corey Johnson and Michael Keaton. 

'THE DUKE' (Rated M) - is a British biographical comedy drama film Directed by Roger Mitchell in his final film making capacity before his death in September last year. His other more noted Directing credits take in the likes of 'Notting Hill', 'Changing Lanes', 'Hyde Park on Hudson', 'My Cousin Rachel', and 'Blackbird'. 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 licenses. What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge - Kempton had spun an intricate 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. Also starring Helen Mirren, Fionn Whitehead and Matthew Goode, the film saw its World Premier screening way back in September 2020 at the Venice Film Festival before being delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released in the UK in late February and has garnered widespread critical acclaim.

'SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2' (Rated PG) - this American action-adventure comedy film is Directed by Jeff Fowler and based on the video game franchise published by Sega. The sequel to 2020's 'Sonic the Hedgehog' which grossed US$320M off the back of a production budget of circa US$90M that film was also Directed by Jeff Fowler, and features most of the cast returning for this second instalment. Following on from the events of the first film, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) is determined to make his mark as a hero and decides to stay in Green Hills while Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) and his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter) go to Hawaii for her sister Rachel's (Natasha Rothwell) wedding. When Doctor Eggman (Jim Carrey) returns from the mushroom planet in search for the Master Emerald to conquer the world and exact revenge against Sonic with the help of Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Idris Elba), Sonic and his new friend Miles 'Tails' Prower (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) set out to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands. This film is due for release in the US on 8th April. In February of this year, Sega and Paramount confirmed that a third Sonic film and a Knuckles spin-off series are in development.

'THE BAD GUYS' (Rated PG) - is an American computer-animated crime comedy film Produced by DreamWorks Animation and Scholastic Entertainment and is directed by Pierre Perifel (in his feature directorial debut) and based on the children's book series of the same name by Aaron Blabey. After a lifetime of legendary heists, notorious criminals Mr. Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson) and Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) are finally caught. To avoid a prison sentence, the animal outlaws must pull off their most challenging con yet - becoming model citizens. Under the tutelage of their mentor, Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade), the dubious gang sets out to fool the world that they're turning good. In the meantime, a new villain emerges. Also starring the voices of Zazie Beetz, Lilly Singh and Alex Borstein. The film was released in Latin America on 17th March, goes on wide release in the US from 22nd April and has so far grossed US$8.5M. 

With four new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-