Movie club presents The Duke

This month’s film, on Thursday April 27, is The Duke, at St Philip’s in Cowes.

Released in 2022, it is an English comedy/drama starring Jim Broadbent.

Clearly delighted with his meaty role, Jim plays Kempton Bunton, an enlightened working man in Newcastle on Tyme whose detailed and fervent beliefs concerning the rights of the lower classes and the elderly consistently get him fired from whatever job he manages to procure.

Helen Mirren, as his wife Dorothy, beautifully conveys both the exasperation and love the character feels for Kempton.

An interesting fact is in 2013, Australian born, UK based producer, Nicky Bentham, began developing a film based on the real-life story of the brazen theft of a Goya painting by a 60-year-old man, from the National Gallery in London in 1961. Convinced that the story would make for an enticing film, Bentham sought out Roger Michell to direct the feature. Sadly, Roger Mitchell died in 2021, before the film aired.

The movie is based on a true story, the 1961 theft from the National Gallery of a Goya portrait, painted around 1812, of the Duke of Wellington. This story does rather seem to prove the old adage “truth is stranger than fiction”.

The film starts at 8pm and the doors open at 7.30pm. Please bring a cup for tea or coffee. The film is rated M and runs for 91 minutes.

Entrance is by membership only, as this is a requirement of Film Societies for buying the rights to show the film.

There is a 2024 waiting list and any queries or applications for a membership form can be made at phillipislandmovieclub@gmail.com

The next film will be A Fantastic Woman on Thursday May 25.