Film Review: The Phantom of the Open

Yesterday evening, we went to see the film The Phantom of the Open. It is one of those films that has the descriptor "based on a true story" and, though the film portrays Maurice Flitcroft in a very endearing way, the true story, at least as presented on Wikipedia (here), suggests a somewhat different character.

When it was shown at the London Film Festival in October 2021, the Festival described the film as follows:

At the age of 46, happy-go-lucky crane operator and all-round lovable family man Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance) feels it’s time to try his hand at something new. Deciding on a whim that golf is his new calling, the budding sportsman sets his sights on mastering the game. But Maurice is not a man to do things by halves, and in a turn of events that you just couldn’t make up, he secures a coveted spot in the qualifying round of the 1976 British Open. With the enduring support of his loving wife and disco-dancing sons, Maurice borrows some books, buys the clobber and gets hold of a set of clubs. There’s only one problem; he has never played a round in his life. Adapted by Simon Farnaby from his book ‘The Phantom of The Open: Maurice Flitcroft, the World’s Worst Golfer’ (co-written by Scott Murray), Craig Roberts’ film is a heartfelt celebration of an eternal optimist who never let his sporting inadequacies stand in the way of his dreams. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. All hail the underdog!

The title sequence to the film offers a beautiful account of how Maurice and Jean Flitcroft meet, with Maurice observing to Jean about the son she already has out of wedlock that "he has a father now" (as the film observes, this was a much bigger thing at that time than it would be now); the couple buying a terraced house in Barrow in Furness; and showing the children growing up. It was so lovely to watch that I completely missed the names in the title sequence.

There are a couple of subtleties in this family story that those who were young in the 1970's and 1980's might spot. The eldest son goes to university and gains a degree, later being employed in senior management at the Vickers shipyard where his father worked as a crane operator. For many working class families at the time, young students at university were the first from their families to have the chance of higher education, so this echoes with those of us for whom that was the case. The threat of redundancies is also shown overhanging the shipyard, though Maurice is described by Wikipedia as retiring from the yard rather than being made redundant as the film portrays. Again, in the industrial areas of the north of England, job losses were a major feature of the 1970's and early 1980's. 

Most of the humour revolves around Maurice's attempts at playing golf and trying to get a foothold in the golfing environment. Neither are very successful. A highlight is perhaps Maurice's conversation with a young Seve Ballesteros in the locker room before his first appearance in qualifying for the Open, which ends with him observing that his golf is much better than his (very makeshift) Spanish.

Through the course of the film, there is a very interesting portrayal of a relationship between husband and wife, and of their relationship with their children. The behaviours, with their ups and downs, are reflective of working class life, though perhaps a little stereotyped. It is these relationships that provide the very moving points in the film, and give a positive view of a family life even when it is lived in difficult times. The older son, Michael, as he has risen in the Vickers shipyard, has distanced himself from his father because of the ridicule surrounding him and potentially adverse effect for his career. But at a key moment at the end of a commercial pitch to Japanese investors, when his boss jumps in to deny that Michael is related to Maurice Flitcroft because he thinks it will cause an adverse outcome, Michael owns up. He then uses the plane ticket provided for a visit to America to join his other family members there... a very moving reconciliation of a prodigal son.

The nostalgia is provided with great care throughout the film. Manual typewriters (not a computer in sight), lunchtime sandwiches at work, old fashioned telephones (not the slightest hint of a mobile phone), smoking, television sets of the time, home furnishings and fashion very much of the time.

There are excellent performances from Mark Rylance and Sally Hawkins, and their twins are portrayed very well by Christian and Jonah Lees. Altogether a film that is very well worth seeing.