Film review: Phantom of the Open
Another British comedy about a sporting underdog starring Mark Rylance
This “shimmering romantic drama” comes with a “strong sex” warning from the British Board of Film Classification, said Robbie Collin in The Daily Telegraph, “and I’d have to agree: the sex here really is rather impressive”. The film celebrates “physical human connection” as a source of “pleasure and solace”; this being a French film, it also presents sex as “just, you know, extremely hot”. Set amid the tower blocks of the 13th arrondissement, the story presents episodes from the ever-shifting romantic lives of four young Parisians.We have Émilie (Lucie Zhang), a Chinese-French science graduate stuck in dead-end jobs; her tenant and eventual lover Camille (Makita Samba); law student Nora (Noémie Merlant); and Amber (Jehnny Beth), the only one with a stable job – who works in adult entertainment. The characters’ lives “intersect in thrilling and surprising ways”, and while the film brims with “naughty bits”, Paul Guilhaume’s “monochrome photography” draws out the “beauty” of the sexually uninhibited scenes – “honestly”.
I was interested by “how many of the film’s most genuinely intimate moments play out at one remove”, said Mark Kermode in The Observer. This “playfully sensuous” film asks “what happens to slow-burn intimacy when mediated by the urgency of the online world”. The characters live out their lives in isolated boxes, their phones and computer screens their only constant companions. But “perceptive and realistic” as the film is, said Edward Porter in The Sunday Times, I couldn’t muster much real interest in these people. For all their vigour, they struck me as “faintly dull”.
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.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
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
-
A history of student protest at Columbia University
The Explainer Anti-Israel demonstrations at NYC's Ivy League university echo protests against Vietnam War and South African apartheid
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Trump is ruled in contempt'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Hainault sword attack: police hunt for motive
Speed Read Mental health is key line of inquiry, as detectives prepare to interview suspect
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Daniel Wallace's 5 favorite books that should not be forgotten
Feature The author recommends works by Italo Calvino, Evan S. Connell, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 picturesque homes in Arizona
Feature Featuring a glass elevator in Sedona and a grotto waterfall in Paradise Valley
By The Week Staff Published
-
Silversea cruise review: a Central and North American adventure
The Week Recommends An incredible journey featuring cultural exploration, cooking classes, comfort and more
By Yasemen Kaner-White Published
-
Baffin Island: looking for narwhal in Arctic Canada
The Week Recommends An exploration of this island between mainland Canada and Greenland is ideal for the adventurous at heart
By The Week UK Published
-
Knife: Salman Rushdie's 'mesmeric memoir' of brutal attack
The Week Recommends The author's account of ordeal which cost him his eye is both 'scary and heartwarming'
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sarah Langan recommends 6 women-centric horror books
Feature The horror novelist recommends works by Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 spacious homes for car lovers
Feature Featuring a 14-car showroom in Oregon and a Bentley-style apartment in Florida
By The Week Staff Published
-
6 serene homes in Vermont
Features Featuring a four-level Shaker barn in Hartland and a Scandinavian-inspired home in Stowe
By The Week US Published