The Duke
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: December 10, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinFeb 26, 2022
The Duke is that rarest of things: a comedy that knows that a twinkle in the eye and a fire in the belly needn’t be mutually exclusive. Read full review
100
The GuardianXan BrooksSep 14, 2020
What a lovely, rousing, finally moving film this is. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungSep 14, 2020
A funny-moving story enjoyably retold with classic British understatement and just the right twist at the end. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyApr 22, 2022
The Duke is not his all-time-best picture, but it’s a very strong one, and it showcases his varied strengths as a filmmaker rather nicely. Read full review
83
The PlaylistJessica KiangSep 14, 2020
You could dine on nothing but lard for twenty years and still not develop the hardness of heart necessary to avoid being won over by Roger Michell‘s The Duke, a ridiculously charming British comedy that dunks a gamely accented prestige cast into an appealingly milky true story like so many digestives into a warm, well-earned, early evening cuppa. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzApr 26, 2022
If you want pinpoint accuracy, watch a documentary. If you want to see top-notch actors inhabit characters in genuine and ultimately moving ways, The Duke is a much better option. Read full review
80
The New YorkerAnthony LaneApr 25, 2022
The Duke is as funny and as implausible as Michell’s “Notting Hill” (1999), the slight difference being that the ludicrous events in the new film happen to be true. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternApr 22, 2022
One of the pleasures—even privileges—of watching a film like this is seeing what superb actors are able to do with material that doesn’t aspire to greatness. The story is charming, the performances are exceptional. Read full review
80
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerApr 21, 2022
The Duke is a genial British entertainment that, at its best, reminded me a bit of those wonderful postwar Ealing Studio films like “The Lavender Hill Mob” and “The Ladykillers.” Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawMar 13, 2022
There is a fair bit of sentimentality here, but an awful lot of affection and energy as well. Read full review
80
IGNRyan LestonFeb 25, 2022
The Duke sets up a hilarious social satire under the guise of a comedy crime caper, with buckets of British humor. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyFeb 25, 2022
This is one of those snappy, well-formed Brit-coms that one expects to see reworked as a Full Monty- or Kinky Boots-style Broadway show. Read full review
80
EmpireJohn NugentFeb 24, 2022
The kind of heist movie that will steal your affections from under your nose. An Ealing-esque comedy with its heart exactly in the right place, it proves a fitting farewell for the multitalented director, Roger Michell. Read full review
80
Time OutPhil de SemlyenFeb 21, 2022
One token racism subplot aside, it juggles big ideas of social justice with more intimate moments of family life beautifully. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinDec 10, 2021
Michell, working off a jaunty script by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman, keeps the action bubbling along with little room to ponder the stranger-than-fiction improbability of the steal, one that, with the plethora of security measures and protocols in place nowadays, feels quaint — though in a fun, nostalgic way. Read full review
80
VarietyGuy LodgeSep 14, 2020
The Duke is a romp first and foremost: Michell’s merry direction makes sure of that. But its stars put a small, dignified lump in its throat. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedMay 3, 2022
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. Read full review
75
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMay 2, 2022
Heartwarming, beautifully shot and more English than a basket of fish-and-chips with a side of mushy peas, it’s an easy-to-watch, easy-to-love crowd-pleaser. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 2, 2022
It’s adorable, finding laughs (look for the Bond joke in the finale) and connecting with shared sentiments. It’s one last feather in the cap of a filmmaker who always touched as he entertained, who often wore his heart on his sleeve and made damned sure his actors did as well. Read full review
75
The Film StageJared MobarakApr 20, 2022
The heart of The Duke is what shines brightest. Read full review
75
The Associated PressJocelyn NoveckApr 20, 2022
[Michell] imbues his last film with so much charm, wit and good storytelling that he, too, cannot help but win. Read full review
75
IndieWireNicholas BarberSep 14, 2020
If you suspect The Duke is on the cosy and nostalgic side of the cinematic spectrum, you might be right. But it’s such an expertly crafted and highly polished piece of warmhearted escapism that it’s difficult to resist. Read full review
70
TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanApr 21, 2022
Too many heartwarming comedies, especially those with mature leads, eventually expose themselves as cynical contrivances. The same could be said for some of the based-in-truth dramas that have started to feel inexorably churned out. In its affable sincerity, The Duke is both their opposite and their antidote, a feel-good entertainment for feel-bad times. Read full review
70
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsFeb 25, 2022
A jolly throwback to a time when flip, breezy British comedies came freighted with substance, and lots of charismatic performances to boot. Read full review
70
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganSep 14, 2020
Michell’s film is as defiantly traditional as the wallpaper which decorates the Bunton’s house. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerMay 4, 2022
The Duke may superficially seem like old hat, but in its comfortable ways there’s still a strong message. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubBrent SimonApr 20, 2022
If the film isn’t quite as complicated as one might sometimes wish it to be, that isn’t to say that this unassuming version of its decidedly strange true tale is anything other than agreeable on its own terms. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyApr 27, 2022
It’s a pleasure watching Broadbent and Mirren share the screen. That’s true even when they bicker, which they frequently do. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanApr 26, 2022
The Duke, based on the 1961 theft of Francisco de Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London, features delightful performances by Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, both of whom help ground this strenuously heartwarming film in something a little more solid than the ether in which it otherwise seems to be set. Read full review
60
The New York TimesAmy NicholsonApr 21, 2022
It is a pity that Richard Bean and Clive Coleman’s script mires Bunton in a soggy family drama about an unresolved death; an elder son (Jack Bandeira) who flirts with crime; and a wife, Dorothy (Helen Mirren, so sheepish as to be near invisible), who is humiliated that her husband prefers prison to a stable home. Read full review
60
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyMar 3, 2022
The Duke reminds us once more, [Michell] knew how to get the very best out of his actors without forcing unnecessary dramatics. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Mark KermodeMar 2, 2022
While The Duke is never quite as surprising as the case that inspired it, it nonetheless retains a much-needed astringent streak. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleApr 26, 2022
Ultimately, The Duke tells an enjoyable real-life story. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChris BarsantiSep 9, 2021
The film misses an opportunity to delve particularly deeply into the keenly relevant issues of inequality and social disconnection that so animate its protagonist. Read full review
40
CineVueChristopher MachellFeb 28, 2022
Though the grins, laughter and cheering of the film’s climax is a little too heavy on the sweetness, it’s a harder heart than mine that would fail to be just a little moved by Bunton’s speech about our dependence on one another. Read full review
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