The Greatest Game Ever Played

When a poor little boy in nineteenth-century Jersey asked a group of upper-class Englishmen “What’s Golf?” they replied, “It’s a game played by Gentlemen, not the likes of you.”

This poor little boy was Harry Vardon, who ended up becoming one of the greatest players the game of Golf ever produced. Despite his humble upbringing, not only did he learn this game of “Gentlemen,” but also excelled in it to the point where people started saying, “all he has to do [to win a game] is show up.”

But the movie The Greatest Game Ever Played is not about how Harry Vardon overcame his challenges to become a respected figure in Golf; it’s about an American boy named Francis Ouimet who overcame similar problems of class discrimination and beat Harry Vardon in his prime.

The movie opens with a scene outside the nineteenth-century Vardon House to give the audience an idea of who Harry Vardon was. Then we move on to the present day where we see the boy Francis Ouimet working as a caddie on a Golf course.

While caddying, Francis finds a ball with the name “Harry Vardon” on it. Later on, an old neighbor who makes Golf clubs for a living gives him a club as a gift. That’s when his obsession with Golf begins.

When greatness is on display 24×7, someone notices it and gives it its due respect. It happened with Howard Roark in The Fountainhead, and it happens with Francis Ouimet. He’s invited to play for the qualifying round for an amateur Golf championship, and one of the members of the club agrees to sponsor him.

Francis’ father agrees to pay the entry fee of $50 on the condition that if Francis fails, he would give up Golf for good and go to a business school so he can earn some “honest money.”

I know what you’re thinking now — Francis wins that tournament, because if he didn’t, he would have to give up Golf, and there wouldn’t be a movie made about him. Quite the contrary. It is after all a true story and not a fairytale, which is probably the reason why it is that much more thrilling to watch.

When a fictitious story portrays people with exceptional abilities, it does serve as a great emotional fuel and reminds us of the greatness possible for us. However, imagine seeing all of this, and knowing at the back of your mind that it actually did happen a hundred years ago! That’s the kind of experience one gets when they see movies like The Aviator, A Beautiful Mind, and without a doubt, The Greatest Game Ever Played.

Coming back to the story, Francis doesn’t qualify in the tournament. But it’s not due to lack of talent. Before he makes the final shot — and loses — he is reminded of a line written by Harry Vardon, “there’s only two kinds of players — those who hold on to their nerves and go on to win championships, and those who don’t.” Turns out, Francis has a lot to learn before he can hold on to his nerves.

Shia LaBeouf plays Francis Ouimet. LaBeouf shot to fame after Transformers, and after seeing his performance in The Greatest Game Ever Played I’m convinced we’ll be seeing a lot more of this young actor in the future.

Stephen Dillane plays the calm and observant Harry Vardon, and does it with great finesse. Perhaps the most challenging part of Dillane’s role is that he is present in the movie in maximum number of scenes, perhaps second only to LaBeouf, and yet has very little dialog. In other words, his face does all the talking.

The fact that he’s able to make an impact without saying a word is something I find the most remarkable about his performance. And the one time he does speak at length, it stays with you.

In one scene, it’s the evening before the last day of the tournament, and one of the “gentlemen” tells Vardon about Ouimet, “the man’s a bloody amateur… amateurs do not win opens. Hell, the last one who won it back home was forty years ago and he was a gentleman. This one’s nothing of the kind, he’s a peasant, common clay… If he couldn’t hit the ball a country mile he’d be digging ditches.”

To this, Vardon replies “Let me tell you something, I came here to win a trophy. And on the face of it Ted Ray or I should carry it off; not for you, not for England, but for sheer bloody pride of being the best. That’s why we do this. And if Mr. Ouimet wins tomorrow, it’s because he’s the best, because of who he is. Not who is father was, not how much money he’s got; because of who he bloody is.”

In today’s world where bromides like players should play with the main aim of making their country proud, this dialog validates what Howard Roark (Ayn Rand) said about inventors and other great men — that they work only for themselves, and they succeed only because of their ego.

It’s both refreshing and reassuring at the same time.

For me to find a movie enjoyable, it needs to have — at the very least — an excellent plot, excellent performances, and decent dialog. In case of The Greatest Game Ever Played, it was check, check, and check.