Review: 'The Phantom of the Open' is a one-note biopic that makes a joke out of its subject

For most of its two-hour run, the comical biopic “The Phantom of the Open” has trouble deciding whether it’s laughing at its protagonist or laughing with him — which makes it difficult for we, the audience, to laugh along with the film.

The protagonist is Maurice Flitcroft, a crane operator in the English port city of Barrow-in-Furness, who seemed to live an unremarkable life, except for a footnote in sports history: In 1976, Flitcroft indulged his recently acquired passion for golf by entering the British Open — and shooting 121 strokes, a 49-over-par, in a qualifying round, then and now the worst round of golf in the Open’s history.

Director Craig Roberts (“Eternal Beauty”) and screenwriter Simon Farnaby (who co-wrote “Paddington 2”) re-enact what led up to that remarkable round, and what followed. Flitcroft is depicted, by Academy Award winner Mark Rylance, as an unperturbed optimist, seeing the best in every situation and urging everyone to follow their dreams. When he courts his future wife, Jean (Sally Hawkins), she surprises him with the news that she has a son, Michael — and Maurice, without a moment’s hesitation, agrees to be the boy’s stepfather.

Flash-forward a few years, and Michael (Jake Davies) has taken an office job at the same shipyard where Maurice operates a crane. Meanwhile, Maurice’s and Jean’s twin sons, James and Gene (Jonah and Christian Lees), are pursuing their teen dreams of being champion disco dancers. So it’s a perfect time, Jean tells him, to do what he wants to do for a change.

What Maurice wants to do is golf, even though he’s got no clue how — and not enough money to get the right shoes or play at the county golf course. Undaunted, he enters the British Open, and because he doesn’t know his handicap, he checks the box that says “professional.”

The infamous 1976 golf round happens midway through the film. What follows is a farcical look at Maurice’s odd 15 minutes of fame — which get stretched when the humorless British golf establishment (embodied by a character played by Rhys Ifans) has Maurice barred from every course in the country, leading Maurice to take on various pseudonyms to skirt the ban.

Rylance’s performance is oddly forced, going for sympathy and mockery at different points and never earning either in the appropriate measure. It doesn’t help that Farnaby’s script descends into family conflict without earning the Flitcroft family the emotional connection needed to make such melodrama work.

The end of “The Phantom of the Open” aims to show Maurice’s eventual triumph — attending an American golf tourney named for him, where the worst score wins — but it feels like another opportunity to mock him. I found myself feeling sorry for Maurice Flitcroft, and for Rylance for portraying him, which I’m sure wasn’t the emotion an underdog sports movie was trying to evoke.

——

‘The Phantom of the Open’

★★

Opens Friday, June 24, in some Utah theaters. Rated PG-13 for some strong language and smoking. Running time: 117 minutes.