You could tell the moment the cast arrived at My Policeman’s red carpet premiere at Toronto International Film Festival 2022. More specifically, you could tell when Harry Styles arrived: the cheers got louder, crowds of fans sprinted towards the theater from all sides, and those in line with tickets pulled out their phones to catch a glimpse of the singer even if by way of social media. It was possibly the most electric red carpet event of TIFF 2022, rivaled only by Taylor Swift’s appearance a few days earlier, as outlined by Vanity Fair, for her short film All Too Well. It makes sense, considering Styles is one of today’s biggest music stars, and after a few small roles in films like Dunkirk and Eternals, My Policeman marks the second of his major leading roles, following the controversial Don’t Worry Darling premiere at Venice.
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Directed by Michael Grandage (Genius) and based on the LGBTQ+ novel by Bethan Roberts, My Policeman is a story about the forbidden queer love between policeman Tom (Styles) and museum curator Patrick (David Dawson) in 1950s Britain, made further complicated when Tom decides to marry schoolteacher Marion (Emma Corrin). Cutting back and forth between the 50s and the 2010s, the film traces the explosion of the trio’s relationship in the past and illustrates the aftermath in the present. Rounding out the cast are Gina McKee, Linus Roache, and Rupert Everett playing older versions of Marion, Tom, and Patrick, respectively.
Grandage’s adaptation of My Policeman holds up as a story that packs an emotional punch in its portrayal of the tension between desire and duty and, more interestingly, passion and regret. The film is an astute examination of the shadows and alleyways in which queer people throughout history have had to live their lives because of larger social systems that empower fear and ignorance. The only thing is, we’ve seen this story before: two men fall in love, one (or both) decide to marry a woman because it’s expected of them, the affair continues (and she inevitably uncovers the truth), and it all ends in either death or separation that cause irreparable grief.
A Fine Effort from the Ensemble Cast
This isn’t to say My Policeman isn’t well executed because, for the most part, it is. Ben Davis’ cinematography is an expert play in light and shadow, particularly in the 1950s portions of the film, emphasizing the risks Tom and Patrick take whenever they choose love, even in secret, over fear. Production designer Maria Djurkovic and the entire design team deserve utmost praise for transporting us to 1950s Britain, lending to the period’s stifling attitudes with the way the characters are boxed-in in their clothes and even their homes and workplaces. Ron Nyswaner’s script also does well in saying without actually saying, giving us a portrait of characters who can’t help but feel deeply.
The highlight, of course, is the cast, who, as reported by IndieWire, were honored with the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance the same night as My Policeman’s premiere. Roache and Everett barely interact with each other as the older Tom and Patrick, and don’t have much to say, but the pain of lost love is evident in every glance. Dawson is luminous as a young Patrick driven by love and desire (for a full life, for art, for Tom). Styles, for his part, does well in Tom’s more restrained and tender moments. The standouts, though, are Corrin and McKee as Marion. Corrin expertly moves through the film as a woman trying to understand the changing world around her. They instantly captivate, and it’s for this reason that you empathize with Marion rather than vilify her when she does the unforgivable. As the older, wiser, and more tortured Marion, McKee is perfection.
Ultimately, My Policeman does a great job of establishing all the pieces that lead to Marion’s life-altering choice, never shying away from the beauty of queer love, made even more precious by the larger structures that seek to destroy it. The film ever so slightly misses on the opportunity to really dive into what happens after: the present-day storyline initially sets up something revelatory, but its rush towards the end (though fitting for all) raised more questions than answers. My Policeman stands on the precipice of being something more, something we haven’t seen, but it never fully makes the jump.
