One of Britain's best-known movie critics has singled out the biopic about hapless Barrow golfer Maurice Flitcroft for one of his weekly picks on his BBC television review show.

Kermode was gushing in his praise: "There is something very British about embracing the idea of failure as a glorious thing, because the way that Mark Rylance plays Maurice Flitcroft is that he's a kind of wholly innocent character.

"All the best, weirdest details are all true. He does a very good job of mixing the down-to-earth stuff with the elements of fantasy.

"I did tear up a couple of times - there's a lovely moment later on which he gives a speech about things that are important, and you'd need a heart of stone not to be moved by it."

Kermode, who chose Phantom of the Open along with 2 other films, pressed the BBC's Jane Hill, his co-presenter on the segment, for her thoughts on the movie.

Hill said: "I laughed and cried, which are my very favourite things in any form of entertainment - charming is the word.

"Don't read too much about it and go and see it because the story itself is so remarkable."