Film Review – The Phantom of the Open

“The Phantom of the Open” explores the true story of Maurice Flitcroft, who experienced a vocational epiphany in 1975, looking to become a professional golfer in his mid-40s, despite never having played the game before. It was an obsession that brought him to the qualifying round of the 1976 British Open, where he shot a score of 121, with many labeling him the worst golfer in the history of the sport. The material (an adaptation of a 2010 biography by Scott Murray and Simon Farnaby, who also provides the screenplay) is ripe for a mockumentary-type of approach, but director Craig Roberts (“Just Jim,” “Eternal Beauty”) doesn’t take the bait, preferring to be sincere with this study of tattered dreams, blending inherent comedy concerning Maurice’s lack of natural talent with a more heartwarming understanding of his family life, ultimately working towards sweetness, which is unexpected and not always welcome in this entertaining study of determination and delusion. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com