My Policeman Review: Harry Styles and Cast Arrest in Essential Queer Story
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The post My Policeman Review: Harry Styles and Cast Arrest in Essential Queer Story appeared first on Consequence.
This review is part of our coverage of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.
The Pitch: In 1950s Britain, same-sex relationships are illegal. Gay men are arrested and thrown in jail for “unlawful” acts, or beaten by a hateful public. Those who pursue relationships must do so in secret or risk everything — their careers, families and maybe even lives.
Enter a handsome but simple policeman named Tom (Harry Styles), who falls in love with an educated museum curator named Patrick (David Dawson). The pair hide their affair until Tom meets a schoolteacher named Marion (Emma Corrin) and decides to marry her in pursuit of a “normal” life.
Fast forward several decades and Marion (now played by Gina McKee) takes in Patrick (Rupert Everett) following a stroke, angering Tom (Linus Roache) in the process. In flashbacks that would make This Is Us envious, the narrative rewinds and fast-forwards to catch viewers up on the events that transpired in between, including the event that ultimately sent all three characters into a fateful tailspin.
The Harry Styles Effect: There’s no doubt My Policeman is banking on the hordes of Harry Styles fans to invest in this story, to the point where the opening credits introduce him before the title sequence or the remaining leads’ names flash. Indeed, during the movie’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 11th, dozens of fans camped out overnight with the intention of meeting the lead, while hundreds more rushed the barricades surrounding the red carpet in hopes of a selfie or a wave.
And while those fans will undoubtedly stan the 28-year-old singer no matter what, My Policeman is not his tour de force. He’s not bad as Tom, and many would argue that he’s redefining the role of a closeted gay man in this movie. However, when paired onscreen with Corrin and Dawson, he often gets lost in the background.
That’s very much a choice, as a chunk of the film tries to convince us it’s Patrick who has an unrequited crush on Marion. It’s also worth noting that Ron Nyswaner’s script (based on the novel by Bethan Roberts), never really delves into Tom’s background or motivations in any meaningful way. The three characters we meet are the three at the center of the story throughout, and there’s not much space for others to come in and interact to enrich the narrative as it chugs along.
My Policeman (Prime Video)
A Failed Opportunity: As a result, one of the film’s central problems is that Tom, as a character, lacks the depth that would make him truly pop. We see him through Patrick and Marion’s eyes, but we rarely follow his journey through his perspective. In Patrick’s gaze we learn Tom has a desire to improve himself and grow, but we never quite see him get there. He falls asleep at operas and hangs back at art installations, and only comes alive in the many (many) lovemaking scenes. That’s when Styles is at his best, unzipping Tom and laying him bare for us to really, truly see. But those moments of perception are also fleeting.
As for Tom’s relationship with Marion, well it’s unclear how they fell for each other in the first place. Their encounters lack sexuality or intimacy, and he repeatedly lies to and gaslights her; even his proposal is lackluster. He tells Patrick how Marion is a good woman, but he never treats her as such. We’re to infer he’s lying to himself and resigning himself to the status quo, and again that’s fine, but it doesn’t make him an interesting character. If anything, it feels as though Styles is stifling his signature charm in order to go there.
That lack of depth is unfortunate when you consider the material at hand. This is an important story about a past we should all learn from. But by the end, a 113-minute character study feels extraneous. Several scenes are repeated from varying vantage points without offering additional context, while in the future scenes, director Michael Grandage includes more than a few lingering shots of characters staring out and wondering, “What if?”
The Verdict: Extraneous material aside, My Policeman is still very much a film worth watching — especially as LGBTQ+ rights continue to evolve and we look back to where we started. It’s a hope that new generations don’t grow up with these same repressions and stigmas, yet this was a reality for so many before and it can’t be ignored.
As for Styles, he continues to make a name for himself in the acting space and will inevitably come upon a true tour de force role sooner rather than later. For now, Corrin and Dawson are much more accessible to audiences with their characters than Tom could ever be. And that certainly seems to be the point: How are we ever to know who Tom truly is, when Tom is never fully allowed to be himself, merely a version of himself he’s created to present to the world at large?
What’s more universal are the lingering feelings of loss and wasted time, and that wondering of what could have been. It’s a heartbreaking theme to reflect on both in terms of real-world consequences and for the characters at hand, and it’s one that may leave you just a little teary-eyed by the film’s closing moments.
Where to Watch: My Policeman books it into theatres on October 21st before its streaming release on Prime Video, beginning November 4th.
Trailer:
My Policeman Review: Harry Styles and Cast Arrest in Essential Queer Story
Amber Dowling
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