The Phantom of the Open

2021
PG-13
1h 46m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

8.2K

YOUR RATING

Rhys Ifans, Mark Rylance, and Sally Hawkins in The Phantom of the Open (2021)

The story of golfer Maurice Flitcroft whose performance at the 1976 British Open Golf Championship made him a legend.

Play trailer2:42

10 Videos

44 Photos

Biography Comedy Drama Sport

Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, manages to gain entry to the 1976 British Open Golf Championship qualification round despite being a complete novice.Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, manages to gain entry to the 1976 British Open Golf Championship qualification round despite being a complete novice.Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, manages to gain entry to the 1976 British Open Golf Championship qualification round despite being a complete novice.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

8.2K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 nominations

Trivia
Maurice Flitcroft used to practise his golf on the playing fields of the local grammar school as he was banned from all golf courses in the area.

Goofs
There is no such golf competition as "The British Open". It has always been known as just "The Open" - as it was the first, and only. Other countries may have their own local open championships, such as the "US Open", which always has the host nation's name to indicate that they are not the original.

Quotes
Jean Flitcroft: I knew a young man once. Said he was gonna be somebody. Promised me diamonds, caviar, champagne. Travel the world, he said.
Maurice Flitcroft: Sounds like you-you should've married him.

Crazy credits
Before the final credits, actual archive footage is shown of interviews with Maurice that were featured during the film, showing that they actually happened.

Connections
Features Good Morning Britain (1983)

Soundtracks
Pick Up the Pieces
Performed by Average White Band
Written by Alan Gorrie, Malcolm Duncan, Robbie McIntosh (as Robert McIntosh), Onnie McIntyre (as Owen McIntyre), Roger Ball and Hamish Stuart (as James Hamish Stuart)
Licensed courtesy of Demon Music Group
Published by BMG Rights Management UK Ltd., a BMG company and by Joe's Songs Ltd.
Administered by Wixen Music Publishing Ltd. and by Fairwood Music Ltd.

User reviews78

Review

Featured review

8/10

A very sweet film

Much more heartfelt than expected - pleasingly so!

'The Phantom of the Open' is a very sweet film, with Mark Rylance being the absolutely perfect lead for it - great performance from him! I also enjoyed the humour, with many lines amusing me - including one that was lost in translation...

It's a great (based on a true) story, one I had somehow never heard of even as a sports (golf much less so, admittedly) fan; I did slightly recognise the name Maurice Flitcroft though. Even if you don't follow golf, it definitely works as a standalone thing and it doesn't heavily focus on the sport anyway; much more to it.

Pretty neat to see Craig Roberts direct (his third, but first I've seen) this - I remember watching him act in TV's 'The Story of Tracy Beaker' when I was a kid. Well in, Rio Wellard!