Biopics, in the way of a drama, comedy or both, that are based around people in sports is a very niche sub-genre, but one that usually has a few common tropes. The story usually follows the rags-to-riches format, the tone is usually light-hearted and the sport in question is usually something wider audiences are not particularly familiar with. Eddie the Eagle and King Richard and good examples of this, with the spotlight on sports such as Olympic Ski-Jumping and competitive Tennis. The Phantom of the Open is a combination of both a drama and a comedy with Golfing in the spotlight.
Golf can be seen as a tedious, patient and lackluster sport. It is a well-known sport, but there’s a lot about Golf that the general audience, myself included, do not know about. One such example is Maurice Flitcroft, one of the world’s worst Golfers, who found himself playing in the Open Championship in 1976 on sheer dumb luck, without hardly any training or knowledge of how to play the sport, and failing spectacularly. Maurice Flitcroft is the main character in this film, The Phantom of the Open, and he is charmingly played by Mark Rylance.
Rylance brings Maurice to life with a sense of naivety, warmth, and determination, giving us a very personal look at who this person was. Sally Hawkins plays his wife Jean, who is incredibly supportive and actually provides some of the more tender scenes in the film. The film has some fun, quirky elements to it too. There are moments where Maurice imagines himself flying amongst the stars, wanting to be a Professional Golfer. The whimsical nature of the film is limited but when this cinematic technique is used it really does help bring the film alive. Not that it needed to as the other aspects of the story help do that too, such as Mark Lewis Jones’ character who keeps being referenced as a thief of some description which eventually leads to a rather humorous chase scene near the end of the film.
The film has its faults of course, but there are not many which are worth talking about. The film follows a typical biopic formula, so you can expect Maurice to go through some hardships and fallouts before the end of the film. I didn’t know what had happened to the real Maurice Flitcroft, but you get a sense that he had a very happy life by how the film plays out. There are not a lot of surprises but the best ones in the film are the stranger-than-fiction facts about Maurice’s children and friends.
★★★★☆
4/5
The Phantom of the Open is a film that makes you smile and chuckle from start to finish. Mark Rylance is the perfect fit for Maurice Flitcroft who brings an essence of himself to the role that makes his acting look effortless. Director Craig Roberts has made a charming story about a little-known figure in a little-known sport, and by the time the film finishes you will want to follow in Maurice’s footsteps and follow your own passions in life too.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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