DramaComedy

The Phantom of the Open

- 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.

Release Date : 2022-03-18

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : BBC FilmBaby Cow ProductionsBFIIngenious MediaWater & Power ProductionsCornerstone Films

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Maurice Flitcroft

Original Name : Mark Rylance

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jean Flitcroft

Original Name : Sally Hawkins

Gender : Female

Character Name : James Flitcroft

Original Name : Jonah Lees

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gene Flitcroft

Original Name : Christian Lees

Gender : Male

Character Name : Michael Flitcroft

Original Name : Jake Davies

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cliff

Original Name : Mark Lewis Jones

Gender : Male

Character Name : Willie

Original Name : Johann Myers

Gender : Male

Character Name : Keith Mackenzie

Original Name : Rhys Ifans

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lloyd Donovan

Original Name : Ash Tandon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dick Nelson

Original Name : Ian Porter

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tony Marsh

Original Name : Nigel Betts

Gender : Male

Character Name : Josie

Original Name : Afsaneh Dehrouyeh

Gender : Female

Character Name : Laurent Lambert

Original Name : Simon Farnaby

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gerald Hopkins

Original Name : Steve Oram

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bruce Atkins

Original Name : Neil Edmond

Gender : Male

Character Name : Golfer 1

Original Name : Tim Berrington

Gender : Male

Character Name : Golfer 2

Original Name : Terence Booth

Gender : Male

Character Name : Greenkeeper

Original Name : Ian Mansfield

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jenny

Original Name : Amy Alexander

Gender : Male

Character Name : John Pegg

Original Name : Tim Steed

Gender : Male

Character Name : Seve Ballesteros

Original Name : Mark Bosch

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jim Howard

Original Name : Ebenezer Eben-Spiff

Gender : Male

Character Name : Young Maurice

Original Name : Tommy Fallon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Genial Father

Original Name : David Mara

Gender : Male

Character Name : Young Mike

Original Name : Austin Griffin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rory Thomson (TV Bright)

Original Name : Graeme Hawley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Drunk Man 1

Original Name : James Flitcroft

Gender : Male

Character Name : Drunk Man 2

Original Name : John McGrellis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Naoko

Original Name : Natsumi Kuroda

Gender : Female

Character Name : Akira

Original Name : Dai Tabuchi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kenji

Original Name : Sadao Ueda

Gender : Male

Character Name : Journalist 1

Original Name : David Ahmad

Gender : Male

Character Name : Journalist 2

Original Name : Michael Dobby

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pam

Original Name : Orla Cottingham

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mike’s Secretary

Original Name : Bianca Tranter

Gender : Male

Character Name : Young Golfer

Original Name : Anthony J. Abraham

Gender : Male

Character Name : Barman Dan

Original Name : Michael McKenna

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive Footage)

Original Name : Maurice Flitcroft

Gender : Male

Character Name : Terry Moore

Original Name : Mike Capozzola

Gender : Male

Character Name : Debbie Moore (uncredited)

Original Name : Holly Barnard

Gender : Female

Reviews

r96sk

@r96sk

2022-03-24

Much more heartfelt than expected - pleasingly so! 'The Phantom of the Open' is a very sweet film, with Mark Rylance being the absolutely perfect lead for it - great performance from him! I also enjoyed the humour, with many lines amusing me - including one that was lost in translation... It's a great (based on a true) story, one I had somehow never heard of even as a sports (golf much less so, admittedly) fan; I did slightly recognise the name Maurice Flitcroft though. Even if you don't follow golf, it definitely works as a standalone thing and it doesn't heavily focus on the sport anyway; much more to it. Pretty neat to see Craig Roberts direct (his third, but first I've seen) this - I remember watching him act in TV's 'The Story of Tracy Beaker' when I was a kid. Well in, Rio Wellard!

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-04-04

Based on the true story of Maurice Flitcroft who was almost as bad a golfer as me, Mark Rylance is on super form. He works at the Barrow-in-Firness shipyard just as it's about to be wound down. Looking for something new to do, he alights on golf - a game he is singularly useless at. Having managed to enter the Open Championship and shoot a round of 121, just about everyone at the R&A wants to be shot of him - and so begins quite an engaging depiction of just how he tried to thwart them and play again. To be fair to Flitcroft, his golf did improve as his mantra of practice, practice, practice began to pay off. Sally Hawkins appears only sparingly, but is quite a good foil as his wife Jean and Rhys Ifans is also quite entertaining as the St. Andrew's man determined that our "phantom" should never pick up a club again. The narrative is amusing, but it also swipes at the cliquey, snobby, culture that prevailed at golf clubs unwilling to welcome a working class man. Clearly, Rylance was up for the part. He is enjoying himself and that is contagious. Maybe you wouldn't want to get into a golf buggy with him, or his slightly dodgy pal Cliff (Mark Lewis Jones) but a bit like "The Duke" (2020) it's a charming and characterful British film that does raise a smile.

Steve Parker

@steveinadelaide l

2022-08-05

PHANTOM OF THE OPEN is a hilarious true story of the world's worst golfer, Maurice Flitcroft (played by Mark Rylance). In 1976, Maurice tried to qualify for the British Open and shot the worst round in history. Despite his lack of skill, Maurice became a folk hero and inspired other dreamers to never give up. Craig Roberts directs the film with a light touch, making the most of the absurd situations Maurice finds himself in. Rylance is terrific in the lead role, infusing the character with both humour and pathos. The supporting cast is also excellent. The fact that the story of PHANTOM OF THE OPEN is true is astounding and, as the plot unfolds, it becomes increasingly jaw-dropping. This is a feel-good film with a message that will resonate with anyone who has ever had a dream. It's also extremely funny and very entertaining. Even if you're not a fan of golf, PHANTOM OF THE OPEN is sure to make you laugh. It's the perfect feel-good movie that will leave you feeling inspired. Highly recommended.

Peter McGinn

@narrator56

2023-02-26

It is a cliché that there are some performers people would watch reading from a phone book. An exaggeration, perhaps, but the leads in this movie, Mark Rylance and Sally Hawkins, approach that status for me. I also appreciated and recognized Mark Lewis Jones, though I knew not from where as I watched. As it happens, he had starred masterfully in the modern classic limited dramatic series Chernobyl. But this film is not nearly as serious as that excellent work, focusing as it does on a minor tragedy, which is to say the personal travails of a novice golfer. He takes up the sport innocently believing he can practice his way to being able to play with the big boys, but only manages to entertain rather than excel. The movie is not a tragedy or even a serious drama really, but rather a feel good biopic of an Everyman who achieved fame of a sort by sticking with an impossible dream. It is not a subtle or particularly deep movie, so I don’t believe I will watch it more than once as I have other films these actors have starred in, but it was a fun watch.