“The Great Maurice”: the worst golfer in the world

There is no truer proverb than the one that says it “Reality always surpasses fiction”. In 1976, Maurice Flitcroft, also known as “the worst golfer in history”, competed in the British Open Golf Tournament. A crane operator by profession at the Vickers-Armstrongs shipyard, Flitcroft managed to register for the championship despite not having any sporting training in golf, limiting himself to having practiced in a few courses near his home and only after hours off work. His audacity caused a rule change that didn’t stop Flitcroft from trying to evade them in very different and outlandish ways.

His story, no doubt, was the ideal material for fiction. It’s something screenwriter Simon Farnaby saw, credited for being behind the scripts of the two ‘Paddington’ bear films, which were widely acclaimed by critics and audiences. Together with Scott Murray, he published the biography of Flitcroft, “The Phantom of the Open: Maurice Flitcroft, The World’s Worst Golfer”, which served as the basis for his leap into cinema, with “The great Maurice”, a story that tries to escape the conventions of the biopic to embrace a tone close to the cinema of well-being, which it achieves thanks to the charisma of its main actors.

Mark Rylance steps into Flitcroft’s skin. Oscar winner for best supporting actor for ‘Bridge of Spies’, he has already demonstrated in the performance that earned him the gold statuette his ability to bring charisma to banal characters. It’s something very common in his long career and so on in “The Great Maurice” he defends himself casually, offering the most captivating face of Flitcrofttoo naive to realize that his attitude provoked the disapproving gaze of a series of professionals who also sinned by looking at him with a certain snobbery and classism.

Mark Rylance exudes charm in this feel-good comedy

It is precisely his interpretation that arouses a proposal which, while having charm and solvency with its actors, is very conventional. Luckily, Rylance is not alone, as he is accompanied by Sally Hawkins, stunning in those captivating roles that have worked so well for him, such as in “The Shape of Water” or “Maudie, the color of life”. They are joined by some wonderful supporting roles, Rhys Ifans also stands out, magnificent in his role as a clumsy executive; as well as Jake Davies as Flitcroft’s eldest son or twins Christian and Jonah Lees, who play the golfer’s twins, who add a touch of hoodlum humor to the film.

“The Great Maurice” proves it Craig Roberts, once a great acting prodigy, continues to progress well as a director. A fascinating film, reminiscent of other recent titles such as ‘The Duke’ or ‘The Lost King’, which remind us that the British also have the ability to tell pleasant stories and that they know how to translate this ability into stories based on real events.

Note: 7

The best: The charisma of Mark Rylance, Sally Hawkins and supporting actors.

Worse: A little more depth was expected from the screenwriter of ‘Paddington’, especially as he has shown that he has a sense of balance in feel-good cinema.