‘My Policeman’: review of the Harry Styles film

‘My Policeman’ has been, in some circles, one of the most anticipated movies of the year, due in large part to having One Direction heartthrob turned Grammy-winning solo artist Harry Styles starring as the lead.

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Based on the 2012 novel of the same name written by Bethan Roberts, the period drama takes place in 1950s Brighton and follows a steamy love triangle between closeted cop Tom Burgess (played by Styles), his wife Marion (The Crown’s Emma Corrin) and her lover, Patrick Hazelwood (The Last Kingdom’s David Dawson) during a time when homosexuality was illegal in the UK.

Four decades later, elderly Patrick (Rupert Everett) moves into the Peacehaven home of Marion (Gina McKee) and Tom (Linus Roach) after suffering a stroke, and the film alternates between the two periods in lengthy flashbacks afterwards. after Marion discovers Patrick’s journals detailing her love story with her husband.

While there’s no denying that the film is careful to acknowledge the tragedy of an era that forced gay people to suppress their sexuality or face persecution, it’s just on a superficial level. Tom is the prize that both Marion and Patrick want, so at first it seems like Styles was perfectly cast, as his charisma and star power make him the believable center of this love triangle.

Beyond this, however, it fails to convey the necessary depth and inner turmoil of a repressed gay man torn between the socially accepted (albeit platonic) love he feels for his wife and the heartbreakingly passionate, forbidden love he feels for his wife. lover. While there are some moments of raw emotion, his delivery often feels unnatural and his lack of experience compared to his seasoned castmates comes to the fore.

Corrin gives a solid performance as Marion, but it’s Dawson who stands out as art-savvy Patrick, radiating charm and refinement as he imbues the pain of a life in lockdown. One scene in particular where Patrick realizes that it’s not “his cop of his” showing up to his job will have you reaching for the tissues.

Styles and Dawson have chemistry, but the script fails to fully develop either character and fails to convey the depth of Tom and Patrick’s emotional connection beyond the passionate sex and mutual attraction. The time jump also leaves us wondering what happened between them over the last forty years.

Of course, it’s hard to feel anything other than compassion for these three characters, whose love has been stolen by intolerance. But overall, it’s a flat adaptation that sadly had the potential to be so much more.

‘My Policeman’ is now available on Amazon Prime Video Spain.

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