In 1961, a 60-year-old taxi driver stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery’s history. What happened next became the stuff of legend.
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Reviews
Peter McGinn
9
By Peter McGinn
Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren are two performers I tend to follow and give any production they are in a try. This is yet another movie based on actual events. I have nothing against that obviously if it is well done, but as someone who writes novels I am sometimes tempted to ask if production companies could support screenwriters who write pure fiction a bit more often.
But that observation takes nothing away from this production. Broadbent is good throughout, especially when he charms the jury in a courtroom scene, which is nearly worth watching the movie all by itself. Helen Mirren disappears into her role as the almost crumpled housewife and does a great job. The film held my interest and I didn’t see the slight twist in the plot coming, though it feels right once it is revealed.
I will be willing to watch the movie again if the opportunity arises, which for me is what separates the adequate programming from the truly entertaining.
