Film Review – The Duke

Director Roger Michell enjoyed a lengthy career filled with critical darlings (“Venus,” “The Mother,” “Enduring Love”) and a genuine smash hit (“Notting Hill”). He passed away last year, and his final film, “The Duke,” showcases his strengths as a helmer, managing character lives and tremendous performances in an unexpectedly spirited movie about an extraordinary situation orchestrated by a charismatic man. “The Duke” is based on a true story, but Michell gives it a jazzier sense of dramatic engagement, offering mild comedy and strange moments of suspense while putting his faith in leads Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, who give the material a rich sense of emotional life, helping to deepen a tale of thievery that, in other hands, could’ve been played for simple laughs. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com