Dear All,

We all love the underdog in competitions and, somehow, the idea of somebody succeeding against all odds continues to excite our imaginations.

Sometimes the underdog is a strong competitor –like a 17-year old, unseeded tennis player who whizzes through Wimbledon and wins the tournament (Boris Becker) who wins on the basis of their strengths ­– but sometimes the underdog is simply somebody who is not that good at what they are doing but their passion for it is impressive.

Three fairly recent films have told this kind of story with warmth and humour. Rather than poking fun at these characters they inspire admiration for these individuals’ tenacity and their belief in what they are doing.

All three films are based on true stories, all focus on characters who persevered against all odds. All were considered terrible at what they did – but somehow people responded positively to them and the films depict them as heroic failures; but more as heroes than failures.

Eddie the Eagle (2015, Director: Dexter Fletcher) tells the story of Eddie Edwards, an irrepressible plasterer from a working-class family who decided he should compete in ski jump events at the Olympics. Despite limited resources and prejudice, Edwards made it to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary and became extremely popular. He was not particularly good at his sport but he was tenacious and good humoured and he was elated to just be part of the competition. His thick-lensed spectacles, gawky appearance and unpretentious demeanour endeared him to the general public as did the fact that he was such an unlikely Olympian.

The film tells Edwards’ story with great humour and Taron Egerton gives a wonderful performance of the Olympian who people loved because of his enthusiasm, tenacity and humour (when asked what hope there was for him at the games, he had responded “In my case there are only two types of hope, Bob Hope and no hope.”) The film throws in a fictional coach (Hugh Jackman) for Eddie which helps the action along, but at heart the story is about Edwards’s tenacity and his refusal to be discouraged.

The Phantom of the Open (2021 Dir: Craig Roberts) is also based on the story of a tenacious Englishman who refused to be evicted from an elitist sport. Maurice Flitcroft was a crane operator at Cumbrian shipyard who decided to take up golf at the age of 46 after watching a tournament on television. He kept trying to gate-crash the British Open Golf championship and he kept playing golf and having poor scores. His game was terrible but he was so persistent that he became famous internationally. A Michigan club even named a tournament after him. The Maurice Gerald Flitcroft Member-Guest tournament was an event that was very inclusive and catered to even very poor levels of golfing ability. His story featured in The Book of Heroic Failures as well as in a biography with the title The Phantom of the Open: Maurice Flitcroft, The World’s Worst Golfer (which the film is based on).

Phantom tells the story of this heroic failure affectionately and wittily. Flitcroft is played by Mark Rylands. His supportive wife is played by Sally Hawkins. Their lovely, understated performances are at the heart of the film. The tensions between Flitcroft ­– the intruder/ imposter – and the golf establishment are quite hilarious and Flitcroft’s resilience and his belief in doing what he has a passion for are quite impressive.

The third film is not the story of an eccentric Englishman in an elitist sport; it is the story of a New York heiress, Florence Foster Jenkins, who has little singing talent but who records her work and even manages to perform at Carnegie Hall at the age of 76. Apparently, her performance was so bad that it was good. Some people thought it was comedic and others enjoyed her perseverance.

The film Florence Foster Jenkins (2016, Dir: Stephen Frears) is a compassionate portrayal of the eccentric music patron and performer. It is humorous but also quite strange and it is about a commitment to one’s art as much as it is about loyalty. Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant both received award nominations for their performances, Streep for an Oscar and Grant for a Golden Globe.

But why would anybody find heroic failures interesting or even inspirational? Probably because they showcase resilience and self-belief, both essential to being able to deal with the challenges life may throw our way. And, also because they emphasise the importance of effort and enthusiasm. These stories reinforce the idea that we have one life to live and must make the most of it. Tennyson wrote that it was “better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all” and perhaps it is also better to have lived and lost than never to have tried living at all.

Or, as the Florence Foster-Jenkins character says in the movie after her very public humiliation, that “though people may say she couldn’t sing, no one can say she didn’t sing.”

Best wishes.

Umber Khairi