Tommy's Honour (2017)

hyped garbage

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Good little British film, you don't need to be golf fan as the story is about class and family as much as golf. Certainly gives a bit of perspective to modern sports.

Beautifully directed and acted. Jack Lowden, Peter Mullan, Ophelia Lovibond, and Sam Neill are all at the top of their game. Although a sad movie it is uplifting how people are able to raise above their adversities. Jason Connery's historical drama is filled with reality and passion for the Scottish life and the game. There should be more films like this.

"Tommy's Honour" (2016 release from Scotland; 115 min.) brings the story of father and son Tommy and Tommy Jr. Morris. As the movie opens, a reporter from the Times of London wants to interview Tommy, by now an old man. But Tommy informs the reporter that the only story he is willing to give him, is about a young man. We then go back in time to the 1860s, and we learn that the young man referred to is Tommy Jr., an up-and-coming lad who loves the game of golf. His dad is a the groundskeeper of the local golf club and started the Open Championship. Along the way, we get to know other characters, including an aristocrat for whom the Morris lads play organized golf, and a young waitress who catches Tommy Jr.'s eye. At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.Couple of comments: this is the big screen adaptation of the book of the same name by Kevin Cook(who co-wrote the movie's script). The director is Jason Connery (yes, son of Scottish icon Sean Connery, and best known for his acting work in UK TV and movies). The movie is a mix of sports movie, family drama, romance, and war of the classes. The tensions between father and son are the most obvious, with the older Morris sticking to the 'agreed' behavior between working class and aristocrats, while young Tommy is eager to break the rules. When he pushes for a better financial arrangement, the Captain of the golf club sneers "Your station in life was set well before you were born", and later on (when Tommy wins yet another major golf event) "You're a hero to this town, but a gentleman you will never be", ouch! I found the movie a bit lightweight, to be honest, as those tensions never really feel real. It isn't until much later in the movie (when Tommy Jr.'s love life becomes the focus) that we feel emotionally involved. Along the way, the gorgeous photography (entirely filmed on location of course) makes this movie feel like one long advert for the beauty that is Scotland. The acting performances are fine: Peter Mullan as Old Tom Morris, Jack Lowden as Tommy Morris, and none other than Sam Neil as the Captain/villain aristocrat."Tommy's Honour" opened in US theaters this weekend. I imagine it's not a coincidence that this is the very weekend after the Masters, the Super Bowl of golf when interest in the game is at its peak in the US. This is an okay movie, in particular if you has a special interest in golf. I found it to be pleasant, nothing more, nothing else.

The game of golf wasn't invented by Scotsmen "Old" Tom Morris or his son, "Young" Tom Morris, but the historical drama "Tommy's Honour" (PG, 1:57) makes it clear that they both did much to modernize the game and popularize it among the common folk. Experts differ regarding golf's historical origins, with theories including the Imperial Roman game of paganica, 8th century China's chuiwan, the Persian game of chaugán and different games played centuries ago in the Netherlands, France and England. Regardless, the actual game of golf came out of 15th-century Scotland. In the 19th-century, the elder and younger Morris, who both became champion golfers, are credited with turning golf into the game as we now know it. Old Tom Morris designed courses across the British Isles (incorporating new ideas that are standards today), he developed techniques of modern greenkeeping and he helped found the Open Championship (now called The British Open) in 1860, winning three of the first five tournaments. Then, Young Tom achieved competitive feats and brought about golf innovations which included… well, giving away all that would count as spoilers for this movie, so I think I'll just get into my spoiler-free summary… The relationship between Old Tom (or, just "Tom") Morris (Peter Mullan) and Young Tom ("Tommy") Morris (Jack Lowden) was a complicated one, as father-son relationships often are, but this one was unique. As Tom was winning tournaments at the newly-created Open Championship, his teenage son, Tommy, was learning the game, showing himself to be professional golf's first prodigy. Tommy was ready to win championships just as the solo championship streak of his father (who was 30 years older) was ending. It was a real changing of the guard and a very smooth transition, but it created some tension between father and son, especially as they began to play in various tournaments as a team. Tom supports his son and is very proud of Tommy, and Tommy loves his dad, but when Old Tommy's play starts to fall off with age, Young Tom is teaming up with dear old dad less and less. Besides that, Tom expects Tommy to follow him into the family business (be a caddy, give golf lessons, learn course design and greenkeeping, etc.) and take over his golf shop someday. Tom doesn't consider "only" playing golf to be a viable profession for "commoners", but Tommy has his own ideas – about lots of things.Tommy is determined to do things his way. Besides insisting on breaking free of the role in life that his father expects him to play, he insists on better treatment for the golfers from their wealthy benefactors, a stance that brings him into direct conflict with Alexander Boothby (Sam Neill), the Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. Tommy also gets into some physical fights on the golf course, which upsets some people (even though Happy Gilmore would've been proud.) As Tommy's stock rises, he fields a variety of offers from golf courses around England, and doesn't always make decisions that those around him can support. And wherever he plays, he also flaunts tradition (and takes big risks) in the challenges that he accepts and in his manner of play. Off the golf course, Tommy wants to marry a local girl named Meg (Ophelia Lovibond), who considers herself too old for Tommy (28 vs. 22) and whom the town and Tommy's parents consider inappropriate for him based on her personal history. Tommy's relationship with Meg leads to a series of events that bring challenges… and tragedy."Tommy's Honour" tells a heart-felt and interesting little-known story, but isn't as impactful as it should have been. Working from a script by Kevin Cook (adapting his own award-winning 2007 book "Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son") and Pamela Marin (Cook's wife), director Jason Connery (son of Sean Connery) lets the story drift at times and the plot hits a few too many sand traps. The film needs a stronger narrative thread, direction that makes the dramatic moments more dramatic and a script which establishes a stronger context for the plot points and makes the importance of what we're seeing clearer (especially for non-golfers). Such significant failings cause the film to be listless and feel longer than its two-and-a-quarter hours. The film does have its strengths, however. It brings to light a story which deserves to reach a wide audience and it features strong performances from its cast and some very good cinematography. Through it all, the honor of Young Tom Morris shines through. It's just a shame that it couldn't have been in a stronger film. Instead, a movie that deserved to be subpar (which, in golf, is a good thing), ends up being a bogey. "B-"