The Phantom Of The Open Review: Feel-Good Biopic Has Paddington Vibes

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There's a recent trend in Hollywood biopics to focus on a person that was maligned by the media, sometimes even by culture at large, and reframe their narrative. Think 2017's I, Tonya, 2019's Richard Jewell, or last year's The Eyes of Tammy Faye, to name some of the better-received examples. Craig Roberts' The Phantom of the Open is a new entry in that canon, and a good one. But unlike those listed above, it happily plays as a comedy for most of its runtime. The movie's approach to its real-life subject is less serious than sincere, in a way that makes sense after learning the screenwriter, Simon Farnaby, also co-wrote Paddington 2. There is no denial that much of what the protagonist does is funny, and worthy of laughter. The storytelling often goes out of its way to prompt that reaction in its viewers. But Roberts' film succeeds where much contemporary coverage failed because of how invested it is in the difference between laughing with him, as the audience is taught to do, and laughing at him.

Based on the biography of the same name by Farnaby and Scott Murray, The Phantom of the Open tells the story of Maurice Flitcroft, played here by Mark Rylance. A working-class crane operator and born dreamer who put his ambitions aside for the good of his family, Maurice learns he's likely to be laid off soon and is encouraged by his wife, Jean (Sally Hawkins), to follow his passion for once. While trying to decide what that could be, he catches a golf tournament on TV one night and it's as if he's finally found his calling. Having never played a round in his life, he signs up for the 1976 British Open Championship qualifier. Confident that golf is his next career enterprise, he labels himself a professional. He then turns up,