THE PHANTOM OF THE OPEN

UK, 2021, 16 minutes, Colour.

Michael Rylance, Sally Hawkins, Jake Davies, Christian Lees, Jonah Lees, Mark Lewis Jones, Rhys Ifans.

Directed by Craig Roberts.

No, not a misprint! The venue for this film is not a theatre – but there is a theatrical venue, and quite some performances, a golf course.

The screenplay is based on actual characters and events – although they seem to be in the category of ‘Believe it or not!’. However, as with so many contemporary films based on real characters, the final credits have quite an amount of footage and photos to verify the characters and events as real.

On the whole, this is a very lighthearted film. However, audience moods will change throughout the film, happy, hopeful, amazed, regretful, hesitant, happy again, more than happy.

This is the story of a crane operator at a shipyard in the 1970s, Maurice Flitcroft. And he is embodied on screen by one of Britain’s most versatile actors, Mark Rylance (artistic director at London’s Globe Theatre for a decade, televisions Thomas Cromwell, Oscar winner for Stephen Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies). Rylance plays Maurice Flitcroft as a complex-simple character. We meet him in middle age, threatened with Thatcher’s nationalisation of the shipyard and loss of job. He is both simple and naive. But he also has an innate intelligence, cultured in many ways. He has married the young woman of his dreams, Jean (Sally Hawkins, so versatile, so dependable). He has become a father to her son and they have twins together. They live a happy simple life.

Audiences will be wondering how on earth he became what the journalists headlined as “Phantom of the Open”. In a way, it was a simple and naive in the way that Maurice was simple and naive. Wondering about a new job, happy to dream of possibilities, is attracted by a TV program on golf. Why not? But, and here is the stretch, he decides to enter the British Open! Audiences will enjoy the jigs and the reels of the procedures, rejections, aristocratic presumptions, and Maurice’s practice which he says is the road to perfection.

The day at the British Open where he is an official entrant entertains us in our cinema seats. But, it also entertains the crowds. It attracts the attention of the media. How could he be so bad! And, he has his twin sons interchanging as caddies, they themselves with huge ambitions to be disco-dance stars, making the moves, touches of performance on the course. However, it is quite a different matter for his older son, Michael, who works at the shipyard, has moved into management and is placed in very embarrassing situations as his bosses watch his father’s performance, or lack of performance.

Audiences who don’t know the story may think that this is far-fetched but, it becomes even further-fetched as Maurice does not give up his ambitions for playing in the British open, despite the hostility and machinations of the boss of the competition, played by Rhys Ifans.

Maurice is a mixture of charm, dreams, deceptions – and loyally supported by Jean.

Actually, Maurice’s rehabilitation in the public eye is also hard to believe – but, the Americans always come up with an unexpected solution and happy ending!

So, wonderful to have dreams, wonderful to have opportunities to live the dream – but, always the question, when does a dream become a delusion and when does delusion have sad consequences?

This film reminds us of similar unbelievable British characters and situations in the recent The Duke. And, unlikely sports competitors, Eddie the Eagle.

1. The title? Phantom of the Opera? Hero, villain? Masked?
2. True story, characters, events? The British open? So many times? And the American competition?
3. The working class setting, the family, Maurice, his background, hard-working, father and the shipyard, his continuing, different possibilities when he was young, poverty, hard work, the encounter with Jean, attracted, proposing, the marriage, 42 years? His adopting Michael and bringing him up? The twins? Michael at the shipyard, the twins and their dancing ambitions? Jean and her work, at home?
4. The shipyard situation, Margaret Thatcher, 1970s, nationalisation of industries? Loss of jobs? Michael warning his father? But his job in management, with the officials, promotions? Expectations?
5. Maurice, Jean, the memories and flashbacks, single mother, neglected, theatre, the proposal, the adoption, the twins, the years passing, the twins and their dancing obsession and hopes? Maurice encouraging them?
6. Maurice and his friends, Cliff, his background, thief, getting all the clothes and equipment for Maurice from his “friend at the market”? The chats together, at the pub? At home, the television, Maurice seeing the golf program, the touch of vision?
7. Maurice naive about playing golf, the clubs, expecting to be admitted, the authorities, urging him off? The clubs, the clothes, attempts at home, practice, his not being skilled? The rejection of the local club, the idea of the British open, understanding open for anyone to enter? The documents, Jean filling the forms, claiming he was professional? His admiration for the radio and television announcer, his thinking the letter was from a child, encouraging Maurice, filling in the official form and sending it? The secretary opening it, the authorities assuming that only a professional would admit to being professional?
8. At the opening, the other competitors, their skills, the crowds, Sami Ballesteros, the commentators, Lloyd the journalist taking notes, Maurice arriving, the boys taking in interns as caddies, his performance, getting worse, and worse? Yet the crowds’ response, his perseverance, the television? The authorities, investigating him? Yet his finishing the round? Interviews, determination to play again?
9. The television, the media, press media, articles, headlines, interviews?
10. The consequences, Michael and the authorities, trying to avoid watching, his holding the antenna, his moral dilemmas concerning Maurice and his job? The scenes at home, the twins, pretending that they were on tour, not enough subscriptions, interest in disco fading? The desperate scene at home, attacking their father? His going to the shipyard, his vision of the moon, the golf club, the stars, leaping? The family going out to find him, apologising?
11. The further attempts at entering the Open, pretending to be French, the wig, the name (variation on the boss’s name)? Cliff as his caddy, always calling him by his real name? The authorities there, suspicions, his being hounded off? The irony of his further entries under three false names?
12. The letter from America, Jean bringing him down from the shipyard Heights, the invitation from Michigan, the competition in his honour, the tickets, going to America, champagne and caviar and world travel – as he had initially promised Jean? His speech, devotion to Jean? Michael arriving and sharing the celebration?
13. Michael, the deal, the ticket, the Japanese, and their delight in finding he was Maurice’s son?
14. Dreams, following the dream, possibilities for dreams? Yet delusions? Said consequences?
15. The final information, Maurice and Jean and their long life?