“The Duke,” and “Phantom of the Open,” November 14/29, 2023 (2020/2021), DVD. The wonderful Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirrin star in this cheeky little English comic ‘based-on-a-true-story’ tale of theft and kindness. I can use much more of the latter, given what’s going on these days. Broadbent plays Kempton Bunton, a 60-yo cabbie crusader against taxes and mandatory licenses for TVs, especially for veterans and the elderly. Mirrin, his wife Dorothy, really supports the family with her work as a cleaner even as she’s appalled by his eccentricities. And then someone steals the newly acquired Goya portrait of the Duke of Wellington, military hero and domestic reactionary, and holds it ransom for monies that will go to charity. You can see where this oh-so-British bit of daft reality is going and it gets there with lovely, if silly, kindness, compassion, and a justice. No, it’s not a howler, but it’s a worthwhile way to spend some time thinking about the possibilities of a kinder community. Note: This was eleased in 2020 when, to that date, this was the only known theft from the National Gallery. Recent months have seen revelations of the appalling ravaging of the collection of insecurely protected treasures by a curator who sold them on EBAY raising global outrage and much bigger questions of international collecting.
One of the trailers shown with “The Duke” featured “Phantom of the Open,” Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance), a crane operator at Vickers knew that cuts were coming and he needed another way to make a living. With the support of his wife (Sally Hawkins), Flitcroft, who’d never played a round of golf before, bought a beginners set, began to practice on the beach and in the fields, and applied to the British Open as a ‘professional.’ He shot a 121, the worst round in Open history, but it was his first. Banned from playing again, he entered using various ruses and became a golf celebrity of sorts admired by duffers for whom the 121, well, if it were me, wouldn’t be that bad even though I played throughout my middle school and high school years. A tournament in Michigan honored his tenacity. It’s another British ‘based-on-a-true-story’ tale of eccentricity and basic kindness.
I was very much looking forward to this based on the trailer and the chance to see Mark Rylance and Sally Hawkins work together. I love them both. But while I enjoyed the sweetness of the film, I was also disappointed. I felt like Rylance was crafting a character who was more intellectually challenged than a tough off-kilter. Perhaps it was right, but it bothered me. Hawkins was ok as the ever supportive and loving wife who adores the husband who stood by and rescued her. But the lack of an edge, like that featured in “The Duke” made this a less appealing feature for me.