*** NEW UK / Ireland release date: 18 March 2022 (releasing in cinemas)***
I will admit I wasn’t expecting much. I’ve seen enough “heartwarming based-on-a-true-story” Britflicks in my time which turn out to be gossamer-slight, stuffed with over-exposed national treasures and not very funny.
IMAGINE MY SURPRISE etc etc when I watched this trailer, which is hilarious, while also being heartwarming, and stuffed with national treasures. (To be clear, I have no problem with national treasures or heartwarming true stories, it’s just when they’re not funny.)
Here’s the synopsis:
The remarkable true story of Maurice Flitcroft, a crane operator and optimistic dreamer from Barrow-in-Furness who, with the support of his family and friends, managed to gain entry to the 1976 British Open qualifying, despite never playing a round of golf before. With pluckiness and unwavering self-belief, Maurice pulls off a series of stunning, hilarious and heartwarming attempts to compete at the highest level of professional golf, drawing the ire of the golfing elite but becoming a British folk hero in the process.
The Phantom of the Open will have its world premiere at the London Film Festival on 12 October. The film is directed by filmmaker and BAFTA® Cymru Award winning actor Craig Roberts, from a screenplay by BAFTA winning writer, Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2). Farnaby adapted the script from his own book The Phantom of the Open: Maurice Flitcroft, The World’s Worst Golfer, co-written by Scott Murray.
The movie stars Academy Award® Winner Mark Rylance as Maurice, Academy Award® Nominee Sally Hawkins as his wife Jean and BAFTA nominee Rhys Ifans as his nemesis Mackenzie.