''Golden Years'' is a 2016 British action comedy film directed by John Miller and written by Miller,

Nick Knowles Nicholas Simon Augustine Knowles (born 21 September 1962) is an English television presenter, writer and musical artist. He is best known for his presenting roles on the BBC, including game shows ''Who Dares Wins'' (2007–2019), ''Break the Sa ...

and Jeremy Sheldon. It follows the exploits of a group of pensioners who, having seen their pensions diminished, decide to tour

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

properties in their caravan and rob nearby banks. It stars

Bernard Hill Bernard Hill (born 17 December 1944) is an English actor. He is well recognized for playing King Théoden in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Captain Edward Smith in ''Titanic'', and Luther Plunkitt, the Warden of San Quentin Prison in the ...

Virginia McKenna Dame Virginia Anne McKenna, (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films ''A Town Like Alice'' (1956), '' Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ''Born Free'' (1966), and ...

Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English film, television and voice actor, director, narrator and writer. He was twice nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his roles in ''A Room with a View (1985 ...

Una Stubbs Una Stubbs (1 May 1937 – 12 August 2021) was an English actress, television personality and dancer who appeared on British television and in the theatre, and occasionally in films. She became known after appearing in the film '' Summer Holiday ...

Alun Armstrong Alan Armstrong, known professionally as Alun Armstrong, is an English actor. He grew up in County Durham in North East England, and first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began ...

and Phil Davis. The film was produced by Mark Foligno and edited by Dan Lincoln, with cinematography by Adam Lincoln and music by Neil Athale.

Plot

Law-abiding retired couple, Arthur (Hill) and Martha Goode (McKenna) live a quiet life in suburbia, tending their garden and socialising with friends. The pensions crisis and a steadfast refusal to accept the injustice of old age force Arthur and Martha into a life of crime. Refusing to take the loss of their pensions lying down and to fade away into their declining years, they decide to fight back and take back what was theirs in the first place. They decide to start robbing banks to recover their money. With masks to hide their identities and canvas shopping trolleys to transport their loot, they embark on a whistle-stop tour of countryside bank branches within easy reach of

properties, which they tour in a caravan. The media reports the banks' robberies and assumes the heists to be conducted by a young crew of professionals. The notoriety of the Goodes grows as more banks are targeted, including a narrow escape when, after robbing a village bank and hiding their masks, they are invited back into the branch for a cup of tea by bank manager Stephen ( Richard Cambridge). Soon, their drinking buddies Royston (Callow), Shirley (Stubbs), Brian (Davis), whom they know from their failing bingo and bowls club, managed by Phil ( Mark Williams), discover their identities and choose to join the gang, enabling more daring heists at

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

bank branch vaults. Meanwhile, they remain one step ahead of policeman Sid (Armstrong) and his wife Nancy (

Sue Johnston Susan Johnston OBE (née Wright; born 7 December 1943) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Sheila Grant in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside'' (1982–1990), Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy ''The Royle Family'' (1998–2000, ...

) and CID officer Stringer (Brad Moore).

Cast

Lily Travers Lily Annabelle L. Travers (born 1990) is an English actress. Her films include '' Late Shift'' (2016) and ''Viceroy's House'' (2017). She joined the main cast of the ITV historical drama ''Victoria'' (2019) for its third series. In 2017, Traver ...

as Alison *

as Arthur * Mark Williams as Phil *

as Sid *

as Royston * Phil Davis as Brian (as Philip Davis) *

as Nancy *

as Shirley *

as Martha *

Ellen Thomas Ellen Thomas (born January 24, 1947) is an American peace activist. She first became involved with the White House Peace Vigil on April 13, 1984. The daughter of a US Marine, Thomas was born in Brooklyn and grew up in California. She became opp ...

as Thelma * Lee Charles as Stan

Production

''Golden Years'' was filmed on location in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and the Cotswolds in 2015. It was released on 29 April 2016 in UK Odeon Cinemas.

References

External links

* * {{amg movie, 656384 2016 films 2016 action comedy films 2010s crime comedy films 2010s heist films British action comedy films British crime comedy films British heist films Films about bank robbery British films about revenge Films set in Bristol 2016 comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films