Tommy’s Honour review: Jason Connery directs this film about Tom and Tommy Morris, father and son pioneers of professional golf.
Tommy’s Honour review, Andrew Gaudion.
The game of golf, beautiful to some, tedium for others, is not something that has ever truly translated all that well to the big screen. It is a hard sport to make compelling, often resulting in melodramatic, yet earnest titles such as The Legend of Bagger Vance or Tin Cup, or the more outrageous (see Happy Gilmore or Caddyshack). Jason ‘Son of Sean’ Connery’s Tommy’s Honour falls in the first camp; a well-intentioned and charming film that realises the limitations of golf on screen so it does its best to keep your interest through the story and the characters themselves. It’s cloying, heavy-handed, but ultimately very easy to fall for. Apologies in advanced for the terrible golf puns.
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The story concerns old Tom and young Tommy Morris, two of the founding fathers of how we know golf today. The film charts young Tommy’s rise up the ranks as he comes to challenge the social hierarchy that has long defined the game of Golf, often clashing with his more traditional father. Across the years, both young and old Tommy come to have more of an effect on the game then they could ever imagine, finding love and heartbreak along the way.
Tommy’s Honour is hardly a film that can be applauded for its craft. Much of the film-making here ranges from adequate to workman-like to a tad poor. Often there are moments when Connery’s desire to demonstrate Tommy’ genius in the game fall very flat due largely to the employment of a terrible CG golf ball. While Connery’s craft may not be up to par, there is no denying his passion for the game, its history and the country of his birth. It is this energy that proves infectious to not only us as the viewer, but to the performers as well.
Jack Lowden, who will soon be seen in the likes of Dunkirk and the Morrissey biopic England is Mine, proves why he is very much a star on the rise. With impeccable old-fashioned looks and the swagger of a confident pro, Lowden is an absolutely charming presence, allowing for Tommy’s arrogance to never over-shadow the fact that what he is trying to achieve within golf is quite a noble and worthy cause. He has exceptional chemistry with the ever-great Peter Mullan, with both of the actors often lifting the dialogue beyond its often contrived nature.
Throughout the supporting cast, there are fine turns from Sam Neil as the Gentleman often disagreeing with young Tommy’s ambitious nature, and Ophelia Lovibond as young Tommy’s love-interest, Meg. Tommy and Meg’s relationship is one that once again is not aided by the often clichéd riddled dialogue, but Lowden and Lovibond make it an affecting relationship through their easy-going chemistry and care for both their craft and the relationship that they are portraying.
If you barely have an interest in golf or its history then it would be fairly easy to shrug Tommy’s Honour off as an item of very little interest. It’s easy to get into the game by getting along to try it out via something like the Avery Ranch and Teravista golf packages or something very similar. It’s a game that involves patience but is rather rewarding if you give it a chance.
Yes, this film is very much more for avid fans of golf and those who adore its long and varied history, but Tommy’s Honour certainly has enough heart in it to engage with those who have little time for golf. It is a film which cares about the figures it is focusing on and the hardships that came to afflict them.
The passion that Connery clearly has for his subject is enough to carry you across the green, even though he may take a few swings to get there. His well assembled cast work above and beyond to make his shots truly soar when they need to. So, while it may not be a hole in one, it certainly is no bogey. I did warn you.
Tommy’s Honour review, Andrew Gaudion.
Tommy’s Honour is released in UK cinemas on Friday 7th July 2017.
