Synopsis
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.
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Cast
- Mark RylanceMaurice Flitcroft
- Sally HawkinsJean Flitcroft
- Rhys IfansKeith Mackenzie
- Simon FarnabyLaurent Lambert
- Mark Lewis JonesCliff
- Jonah LeesJames Flitcroft
- Christian LeesGene Flitcroft
- Ash TandonLloyd Donovan
- Ian PorterDick Nelson
- Jake DaviesMichael Flitcroft
Recommendations
- 80
The Telegraph
The Phantom of the Open is a rousing salute to a very English strain of nincompoopery – and a wise and witty reminder that that the pleasure of doing something spectacularly badly can outstrip the satisfaction of a job well done. - 80
The Irish Times
The film does feel a little thin in its later stages, but the inventive performances – Rylance’s in particular – keep the film aloft throughout. No bogie. Comfortably a birdie. Not quite an eagle. - 75
The Film Stage
Ultimately, The Phantom of the Open is one of this year’s most charming films––a broad crowdpleaser that stands a good chance of winning over even the most cynical audiences. - 70
Screen Daily
The Phantom Of The Open is an amiable little picture which might be dramatically as flat as Mark Rylance’s vowels but still packs a considerable helping of crowd-pleasing charm into its cap and golfing slacks. - 70
Variety
The jokes write themselves, though in The Phantom of the Open, screenwriter Simon Farnaby and director Craig Roberts make them sweeter and spryer than they could have been, while a wide-eyed, bucket-hatted Mark Rylance plays Flitcroft with abundant generosity of spirit. - 60
CineVue
As fuzzy and reassuring as a multi-coloured Pringle sweater-vest, The Phantom of the Open is a good, old-fashioned crowd-pleaser. - 60
The Guardian
Rylance is good casting as Maurice: his delicate sing-song voice and sometimes faintly unfocused gaze fit nicely with our hero’s lovably awkward determination, as well as Flitcroft’s sense as a natural comedian that there is something more than a little absurd in the game of golf. - 60
Empire
What The Phantom Of The Open lacks in ambition or dramatic oomph, it makes up for in easy-going appeal. Anchored by an impish Mark Rylance, it takes its cue from the story’s hero: a bit ramshackle, very amiable, always watchable.
