Film review: Phantom of the Open
Another British comedy about a sporting underdog starring Mark Rylance
Twenty years since Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, 9½ Weeks) last made a movie, he is back with this adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1957 novel Deep Water, said Tim Robey in The Daily Telegraph. The setting has been moved from 1950s New England to present-day New Orleans, where an unhappily married couple, Vic (Ben Affleck) and Melinda (Ana de Armas), are living in a “blithe cocoon of wealth”. He is a tech millionaire who got rich by developing chips for military drones, while she is a “shameless vixen” many years his junior, whose “serial infidelities” – conducted under his nose – may, or may not, be driving him to bump off her lovers. De Armas is “magnetic”, but her character “obstinately refuses” to develop; ultimately there’s something a bit dated about her “femme-fatale-ish” unknowability and “crackling sexuality”. The film has “glossy watchability” in spades, and the fact that the co-stars have dated in real life does add “frisson” – but the finale is a “hodgepodge” that overshadows the beginning’s “playful promise”.
Highsmith’s books normally make “terrific films”, said Brian Viner in the Daily Mail; think of The Talented Mr Ripley or Carol. The trouble here isn’t so much the actors – they’re “fine” – but the people they’re playing, who are so unlikeable you stop caring “who did what to whom”. Casting Affleck wasn’t the “worst idea”, said Danny Leigh in the Financial Times, but in this role he deploys so many “inert scowls” he starts to evoke Mr Potato Head. The film feels “forever at odds with itself”, at once flippant and morose, “nervously post-#MeToo” and “ethically grubby”. Still, it’s a “torrid cocktail” for those who have missed the once ubiquitous erotic thriller genre.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures Firing shells, burning ballots, and more
By Anahi Valenzuela, The Week US Published
-
Damian Barr shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The writer and broadcaster picks works by Alice Walker, Elif Shafak and others
By The Week UK Published
-
The Great Mughals: a 'treasure trove' of an exhibition
The Week Recommends The V&A's new show is 'spell-binding'
By The Week UK Published
-
The Great Mughals: a 'treasure trove' of an exhibition
The Week Recommends The V&A's new show is 'spell-binding'
By The Week UK Published
-
Damian Barr shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The writer and broadcaster picks works by Alice Walker, Elif Shafak and others
By The Week UK Published
-
Aston Martin Vanquish: 'the best Aston Martin full stop'?
The Week Recommends The third-generation Vanquish 'offers spectacular performance'
By The Week UK Published
-
Her Lotus Year: Paul French's new biography sets lurid rumours straight
The Week Recommends Wallis Simpson's year in China is less scandalous, but 'more interesting' than previously thought
By The Week UK Published
-
Say Nothing: 'sensational' dramatisation of Patrick Radden Keefe's bestselling book
The Week Recommends The series is a 'powerful reminder' of the Troubles
By The Week UK Published
-
Joy: fertility film starring Bill Nighy offers 'dose of seasonal cheer'
The Week Recommends The film about the invention of the fertility treatment is 'unassuming' but may 'sneak up on you'
By The Week UK Published
-
Ed Park's 6 favorite works about self reflection and human connection
Feature The Pulitzer Prize finalist recommends works by Jason Rekulak, Gillian Linden, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 fantastic homes in Columbus, Ohio
Feature Featuring a 1915 redbrick Victorian in German Village and a modern farmhouse in Woodland Park
By The Week Staff Published