The Duke

The Duke may superficially seem like old hat, but in its comfortable ways there’s still a strong message.

A charming, understated and completely enjoyable frolic about how ordinary people can do extraordinary things that seems doubly startling because, while seeming implausible, it also happens to be absolutely true.

It’s a daft, lovely story, and it opens up like a flower – the final half hour is deeply and unexpectedly moving.

[The Duke] sometimes gets overly sentimental and rose-colored about its “simpler” early 60s milieu, but Broadbent more than carries this homage to the triumph of a little man.

This messing around with chronology could feel manipulative if the stakes of "The Duke" were higher but, instead, it's like each revelation is a little gift.

The Duke is appealing and wayward, too, if also given to both slickness (split screens? really?) and more than a dollop of sentimentality.

A reminder of the Notting Hill director’s formidable talent, and stands alongside his best work, combining humour, sharp and acerbic social observation, and a big emotional kick.

The Duke is a joyful caper that makes you think about how much more we could all be doing to impact the lives of others around us if we just stuck our noses out a little bit.

Thanks to [Broadbent's] performance — and the note-perfect direction of the late, great Roger Michell — a quirky footnote of history becomes a sweet, unexpectedly moving story about solidarity and the power of the underdog.

A true story about a elder who steals a painting in order to help others, demonstrating the philosophy of ubuntu.