The Duke is set in 1961 when 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. Helen Mirren plays as Bunton’s wife.

This portrait theft has been the only theft in the Gallery’s history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government agreed to provide television for free to the elderly. What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge–a startling revelation of how a good man set out to change the world and in so doing saved his son and his marriage.

Rotten Tomatoes critics rate this as 97% favorable, and the audience gives it an 85%. The Rotten Tomatoes critics’ consensus is that “The Duke offers a well-acted and engaging dramatization of an entertainingly improbable true story.”

This movie is rated R for language and brief nudity throughout. Common sense media notes that this movie has moderately high levels of sex/nudity, and that it features strong language, including some racist slurs. It has a runtime of 96 minutes.

Please see our Dayton Chronicle advertisement, or our website, for movie dates and times. We have reduced the seating buffering distances between groups to one seat in both directions in the row. We appreciate your cooperation.

The Liberty Theater’s children’s film series of six free movies continues for the third week with A Dog’s way home, at 1 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday, July 12 and 15.