In what seems like an interesting story, I feel like Tommy’s Honour falls flat on some of its big emotional moments. It tries so hard to allow you to relate to the characters, but it lacks the final push for you to care.
I didn’t hate this movie. Maybe it’s just not for me. I feel like what was missing was that emotional link to make me say, I support Tommy. I understand where he’s coming from and I understand what he’s trying to do. It’s just too predictable and lacks that X-factor to make it feel like a great movie.
Tommy’s Honour is about a golfer in Scotland and his father. They revolutionized the game and changed golfing history forever. At first, Tom (Peter Mullan) doesn’t want his son, Tommy (Jack Lowden) to play golf because he doesn’t want any negative perceptions on his course. When it is revealed how good of a player Tommy is, he still garners no respect. He must go to the top of the food chain and beg Mr. Boothby (Sam Neill) to let him play. He also meets a girl, Meg (Ophelia Lovibond), along the way.
The story is very interesting for golf lovers. It shows the struggles and perils of the older times of playing the sport. I think it also captures the moments that everyone loves the most in golf. There were some admirable things that were accomplished in this film. They should not be overshadowed in the grand scheme of things. The real magic of the game is showed through the characters’ enthusiasm for it. What brings people together through golf is exemplified in this film.
The problems in this film aren’t glaring. There were no problems in cinematography. There weren’t even any moments that were funny that weren’t supposed to be. This isn’t a bad movie by any means. It’s just missing something. This feeling gets stronger as the film progresses and you start to care less and less about Tommy. The pacing feels weird and the golf ball CGI takes away a little from the movie, but these aren’t the main problems. Tommy is a very likable guy, so that’s not it either.
I think the main problem is that it doesn’t feel like there’s strong connections between any of the characters. Meg is hated by both Tom and his wife, Nancy (Therese Bradley), until the end of the movie for a plot point that feels significant more so after the fact than during. It feels like a huge chunk of the film revolves so heavily around golf that it forgets the people behind these big changes. Like the amount of shots it took to show the characters walk around silently across a golf course could’ve been replaced with some dialogue. I understand that might have not fit the time, but it did have a substantial amount of time just having a slight intense feeling without dialogue. I felt like the focused too heavily on golf and the general atmosphere around the characters.
The dad was about the most wholesome dude and I think that’s mainly inferred through the movie. I would’ve like moments like that shown or spoken about more. They were a poor family and Tommy was becoming an all-star golfer. There needed to be something showing how the level of fame effected the family. That was not present other than a few off-hand lines and I think understanding why his father acted the way he did would’ve brought more clarity to the situation.
Overall, I wouldn’t say that I hated this movie. I just wish it had something more to it. It was disappointing to see a movie with so much potential fall to the way side because of some bad decisions. Golfing needs a movie that people can use to show why so many people decide to do it. I think the slow pacing of golf got in the way of some storytelling elements.
Grade: C+
