Phantom of the Open 🦛🦛🦛 Phantom of the Open is the kind of movie that you tell your friends about. It does not aesthetically wow but is blessed here by having an ideal true life underdog story and the acting gifts of Mark Rylance and Sally Hawkins. The story starts when a soon to be laid off factory worker in a small English factory town, Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance) is faced with what to do with the rest of his life. Maurice decides to take up golf and what better place to start than the 1976 British Open? For those not familiar with golf it is one of the most difficult and snobbish games in existence and the British Open is the worlds oldest and in 1976 at least one of its grandest events. Such a feat would be impossible today but rules are often made after someone finds a loophole. The results are of Maurice’s entry are predictably funny but the movie is not predictable. I expected heartfelt and funny and cliché. Phantom is sort of all those things but at the same time not. Maurice is not a loveable idiot or a funny goofball he is the most genuinely optimistic person you could ever hope to meet. Take the scene where he explains to his wife that he is practically a professional golfer, so he should probably check that box on his admission form. Maurice is deluded but sincere. Rylance who is an amazing actor, plays Maurice just right. You smile at Maurice but you never laugh at him. As great as Rylance is Sally Hawkins almost steals the show as Maurices wife Jean. Jean tells Maurice that she knows all he gave up for his family and encourages him to pursue his dreams. Jean is as sweet as Maurice is deluded. Every time she is onscreen Hawkins lights the already lovely movie up. There is not an ounce of insincerity in Rylance or Hawkins performances. This is vital because even a hint that either of them saw the potential absurdity of their characters would have broken the spell and ruined the movie. Maurice and Jean’s grown boys play an important role. There is an older son who has completely missed his fathers teachings about dreaming. Michael (Jake Davies) is simply trying to stay afloat as a manager at the struggling factory his Dad was laid off from. Something that causes all sorts of tension when Maurice becomes a public laughingstock. The younger boys, twins Gene ( Christian Lees) and James (Jonah Lees) are like their Dad pursuing a dream, their dream is to be professional disco dancers. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. The story arc of the movie is not terribly original because real life is often not that original an arc. Real life instead is often unexpected and offers remarkable variations on the familiar and so does the movie. Besides the lead performances I most enjoyed that rather then retrofit this into a familiar formula writer Simon Farnaby and director Craig Roberts have let this movie play out like real life. Like life the movie is at times a little messy but like in life the mess is part of the beauty. It’s not perfect but it’s real and completely sincere.
A fun and uplifting real life story that contains surprises and superb performances
A fun and uplifting real life story that…
A fun and uplifting real life story that contains surprises and superb performances
Phantom of the Open 🦛🦛🦛 Phantom of the Open is the kind of movie that you tell your friends about. It does not aesthetically wow but is blessed here by having an ideal true life underdog story and the acting gifts of Mark Rylance and Sally Hawkins. The story starts when a soon to be laid off factory worker in a small English factory town, Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance) is faced with what to do with the rest of his life. Maurice decides to take up golf and what better place to start than the 1976 British Open? For those not familiar with golf it is one of the most difficult and snobbish games in existence and the British Open is the worlds oldest and in 1976 at least one of its grandest events. Such a feat would be impossible today but rules are often made after someone finds a loophole. The results are of Maurice’s entry are predictably funny but the movie is not predictable. I expected heartfelt and funny and cliché. Phantom is sort of all those things but at the same time not. Maurice is not a loveable idiot or a funny goofball he is the most genuinely optimistic person you could ever hope to meet. Take the scene where he explains to his wife that he is practically a professional golfer, so he should probably check that box on his admission form. Maurice is deluded but sincere. Rylance who is an amazing actor, plays Maurice just right. You smile at Maurice but you never laugh at him. As great as Rylance is Sally Hawkins almost steals the show as Maurices wife Jean. Jean tells Maurice that she knows all he gave up for his family and encourages him to pursue his dreams. Jean is as sweet as Maurice is deluded. Every time she is onscreen Hawkins lights the already lovely movie up. There is not an ounce of insincerity in Rylance or Hawkins performances. This is vital because even a hint that either of them saw the potential absurdity of their characters would have broken the spell and ruined the movie. Maurice and Jean’s grown boys play an important role. There is an older son who has completely missed his fathers teachings about dreaming. Michael (Jake Davies) is simply trying to stay afloat as a manager at the struggling factory his Dad was laid off from. Something that causes all sorts of tension when Maurice becomes a public laughingstock. The younger boys, twins Gene ( Christian Lees) and James (Jonah Lees) are like their Dad pursuing a dream, their dream is to be professional disco dancers. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. The story arc of the movie is not terribly original because real life is often not that original an arc. Real life instead is often unexpected and offers remarkable variations on the familiar and so does the movie. Besides the lead performances I most enjoyed that rather then retrofit this into a familiar formula writer Simon Farnaby and director Craig Roberts have let this movie play out like real life. Like life the movie is at times a little messy but like in life the mess is part of the beauty. It’s not perfect but it’s real and completely sincere.