The Phantom of the Open (2022)

Score: 4 / 5

Mark Rylance is one of the most underrated and dexterous actors of his generation working today, and he blesses us with another fabulous performance this year (his others were The Outfit and Bones and All) as The Phantom of the Open. Under an assortment of argyle vests and his signature bucket hats, he plays Maurice Flitcroft, the real-life worst golf player in history. Well, more or less; Flitcroft is known for having shot the worst round ever at the British Open in 1976 and for being subsequently banned by the organization. Not that that stopped Flitcroft, who played (or attempted to) many more times under various false identities.

British comedies are really hit-or-miss for me, but this one nailed the dry, sweet humor that hit the mark dead-on. It's a story of pluck and gumption, of chasing your dreams regardless of what the world tells you to do, accomplishing the impossible and inspiring others to do the same. Flitcroft was a shipyard crane operator in a working-class lifestyle with his wife Jean (Sally Hawkins in a terribly underwritten role) and three sons who in turns encourage and discourage him from continuing his antics. But once Maurice is bit by the golf bug, there's no stopping him from sneaking onto ranges to practice or wheedling his way into upscale clubs.

I confess a little annoyance that the film never really gets to the heart of exactly why Maurice spontaneously fell in love with golf and determined to make it his passion. Perhaps it doesn't really matter, ultimately, because simply knowing it's his passion should be enough. But for such a wacky, largely unbelievable story, it might help us emotionally connect with the otherwise distractingly eccentric protagonist. His thick accent and little quirks and tics reveal the depth of Rylance's acting skills much more than they reveal anything about Maurice's internal life other than his indomitable optimism for himself and determined perseverance. The closest we get to understanding Maurice's view of the world is in a few notable scenes of magical realism, as Maurice daydreams about his own stardom and about himself orbiting a golf ball like he's its moon (and that golf is, by extension, his whole world).

And that's the ultimate point of this film, I think: celebrating the virtues of hope and honesty with oneself, despite how the world mocks you for or restricts you from living your best life. Rhys Ifans plays the villainous head of the Open, a sort of cartoonish business man determined to maintain the higher class of his tournament and organization. He's essentially the bumbling schoolmaster to Maurice's naughty schoolboy, warily watching for a fake moustache or poor French accent to identify Flitcroft and then chasing him off the premises. And, really, it's this sequence of elaborate disguises and chases that could have made for the bulk of the film, rather than being relegated to the final third of this film, in something I'd imagine not unlike the tone of Catch Me If You Can. That caper would make for a much more action and comedy-heavy film, which clearly director Craig Roberts is not interested in making. Instead, his film turns Maurice into a hero for anyone who has ever chased a dream against all odds, even the knowledge that they aren't "good" at their passion. Really, if anything, this film reminded me most of Florence Foster Jenkins in that way.