“The Phantom of the Open” is another typical comedy film about eccentric British figure. Although I wish it were more biting and acerbic considering its truly outrageous real-life story, it still amused me enough when I watched it during this morning, and it also made me appreciate again the considerable presence and talent of its exceptional lead actor.

Mark Rylance, who has been more prominent thanks to his Oscar-winning breakthrough turn in Steven Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies” (2015), plays a plain working-class guy named Maurice Flitcroft, and the movie opens with Flitcroft casually talking about his life background in front of an amused TV interviewer. As your average dreamer, Maurice did not want to work at a local shipyard just like his father and grandfather, but life eventually led him to the shipyard, and then he willingly put aside his dream when he married Jean (Sally Hawkins), a single mother who also worked at the shipyard as a secretary.

Anyway, Maurice has had a fairly happy life with Jean and their children, but then there comes a sudden change. On one day, his oldest kid, who has incidentally worked in the management department of the shipyard, notifies to him that there will be a considerable dismissal due to the upcoming nationalization of the shipyard, and it goes without saying that Maurice and some of his colleagues will be the first ones to let go.

Nevertheless, Maurice is not daunted that much while seeing this bad news as an opportunity for pursuing whatever he wants to do at last, and, what do you know, he soon sets his goal right after seeing a golf game on TV. Although he does not know anything about golf at all, he acquires several items needed for playing golf, and he even becomes determined to play at the Open Championship just because he thinks he can simply try after some practice.

Of course, things do not go that well for Maurice from the beginning. First, he tries to practice a bit at a prestigious local golf club, but, not so surprisingly, he is promptly rejected by the management. He has no choice but to practice golf at some other spots including a local beach, but he does not have anybody to train him while only depending on several guidebooks.

Nevertheless, Maurice still wants to play at the Open Championship, and he innocently tries to apply for the tournament even though he does not know that much about how to fill out the application form. To our little amusement, his rather sketchy application is accepted without much problem mainly due to a little negligence, and Maurice is certainly delighted by this unexpected opportunity.

Right from the first round, Maurice surely makes a big expression on everyone at the tournament, and we get a series of silly but funny moments as Maurice frequently baffles or amuses others for his numerous disastrous plays. As a matter of fact, he ends up becoming the worst golfer in the history of the Open Championship, and everyone naturally wonders about who he is as he becomes a celebrity nicknamed, yes, “The Phantom of the Open”.

The second half of the screenplay by Simon Farnaby, which is based on the biography written by him and Scott Murray, follows the long conflict between its unflappable hero and those folks managing the Open Championship, mainly represented by a dude named Keith Mackenzie (Rhys Ifans). When Mackenzie subsequently blocks Maurice from participating in the tournament again, Maurice is not daunted at all, and, to Mackenzie’s annoyance, he manages to sneak into the tournament as disguising himself as a French golfer who looks as ridiculous as Inspector Clouseau.

The movie is rather vague about what exactly its hero thinks and feels about his Quixotic pursuit, but Rylance’s deadpan comic performance keeps us engaged even when his character is often distant and detached from what is going on around him. We have no idea on how much Maurice is actually oblivious to his inarguably lousy plays, but Rylance subtly conveys to us his character’s eccentric passion, and you will come to find his character as endearing as, say, the titular hero of Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood” (1994).

Several other main cast members of the film are under-utilized due to their relatively flat characters, which are the main weak aspect of the movie. Sally Hawkins, who has been always reliable since I came to notice via Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky” (2008), is too good to play your average supportive wife, but she manages to bring some life and personality to her thankless role at least. In case of Rhys Ifans, he is wasted while only required to look as exasperated or annoyed as demanded, though he is a fairly good counterpoint to Rylance’s low-key acting.

“The Phantom of the Open” is directed by Craig Roberts, who is known for his lead performance in Richard Ayoade’s “Submarine” (2010) and also made a feature film debut as a filmmaker in “Just Jim” (2015). Although it is not without flaws, the movie has enough charm and humor to entertain me, and now I wonder how my parents will respond to the film. Considering how they have often enjoyed playing golf these days, I am sure that they will be amused to see that they are not that amateurish compared to Maurice.