The Phantom of the Open
Published January 22, 2025
Film info
- Title The Phantom of the Open
- Director Craig Roberts
- Year 2021
- Run time 1hr 46m
- Genres Drama, Comedy
- Tagline Every dreamer deserves a shot
Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, managed to gain entry to The British Open Golf Championship qualifying in 1976 and subsequently shot the worst round in Open history, becoming a folk hero in the process.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2:59 | Playing the violin badly is one of the worst sounds. |
| 4:14 | “Kids can be cruel.” “That’s the teachers.” |
| 6:45 | The remote control has a lead on it! |
| 10:43 | “You can go back to your old job. You said you did a bank job once.” |
| 15:22 | The balls just to want to have a crack at professional sport like that. |
| 21:47 | Haha, he’s got grass on his face. |
| 23:49 | Who breaks into a golf club? |
| 30:14 | Love that he speaks Spanish, you wouldn’t necessarily expect that. |
| 38:25 | This is like if I tried to play a round of golf. |
| 47:04 | The relentless positivity is incredible. |
| 54:11 | “I got the money AND I got the shoes.” |
| 1:01:37 | He did NOT rock up in a fake moustache. |
| 1:13:35 | I guess disco isn’t really a reliable career path. |
| 1:26:05 | “He’s the only golfer who’s worse than my boss.” |
| 1:30:47 | But I don’t take sugar in my tea. |
Thoughts
I almost didn’t watch this full movie, the twenty minute rule was about to come into effect. It was such a slow, boring start, and there was a dream sequence for crying out loud. But just about twenty minutes in, he started practicing golf and there were a few amusing moments, so I gave it ten more minutes, and then ten more and in the end I was invested in the story. And I’m glad it worked out because it’s an incredible story, almost unbelievable. Mark Rylance does a great job as this oddball character, and Sally Hawkins’ quiet support throughout was very impressive. A lovely film.
Rating: 3 / 5