| The Phantom of the Open | |
| Director: | Craig Roberts |
| Music: | Isobel Waller-Bridge |
| Cinematography: | Kit Fraser |
| Editing: | Jonathan Amos |
| Distributor: | Entertainment One |
| Runtime: | 102 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Gross: | $4 million[1] [2] |
The Phantom of the Open is a 2021 British biographical comedy-drama film directed by Craig Roberts, about the exploits of Maurice Flitcroft. The screenplay by Simon Farnaby was based upon the biography The Phantom of the Open: Maurice Flitcroft, The World's Worst Golfer by Farnaby and Scott Murray.[3] [4] The film stars Mark Rylance, Sally Hawkins, Rhys Ifans, Jake Davies, Christian and Jonah Lees, Mark Lewis Jones and Johann Myers.
The Phantom of the Open had its world premiere at the 65th BFI London Film Festival on 12 October 2021,[5] and was released in the United Kingdom on 18 March 2022, by Entertainment One. It received positive reviews.
In May 2020, it was announced Craig Roberts would direct the film, from a screenplay by Simon Farnaby based upon his biographical book The Phantom of the Open: Maurice Flitcroft, The World's Worst Golfer.[6] Flitcroft's son, James, was used as a consultant.[7] In June 2020, Mark Rylance joined the cast of the film.[8] In October 2020, Sally Hawkins, Rhys Ifans, Jake Davies, Christian Lees, Jonah Lees, Mark Lewis Jones and Johann Myers, joined the cast of the film, with Entertainment One set to distribute in the United Kingdom.[9]
Principal photography began in October 2020.[10]
In July 2021, Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights to the film for North America, Thailand, France and China.[11] It was released in the United States on June 3, 2022.[12]
The Phantom of the Open had its world premiere at the 65th BFI London Film Festival on 12 October 2021.[13]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 134 critic reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.10/10. The website’s critical consensus states, "Led by a stellar performance from Mark Rylance, The Phantom of the Open turns a stranger-than-fiction true story into crowd-pleasing entertainment."[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews”. The Guardians Simran Hans rated the film 4/5, praising Rylance's decision to play his character straight, and complimenting the accompanying musical score.[15]