DramaRomance

My Policeman

- Let it take hold of you.

In the late 1990s, the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick into Marion and Tom’s home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when homosexuality was illegal.

Release Date : 2022-10-20

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Amazon StudiosBerlanti ProductionsIndependent

Production Country : United KingdomUnited States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Tom Burgess

Original Name : Harry Styles

Gender : Male

Character Name : Marion Taylor

Original Name : Emma Corrin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Patrick Hazlewood

Original Name : David Dawson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Older Marion

Original Name : Gina McKee

Gender : Female

Character Name : Older Patrick

Original Name : Rupert Everett

Gender : Male

Character Name : Older Tom

Original Name : Linus Roache

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nigel

Original Name : Kadiff Kirwan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sylvie

Original Name : Dora Davis

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bert

Original Name : Andrew Tiernan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Leonard

Original Name : Jack Bandeira

Gender : Male

Character Name : Defence Lawyer

Original Name : Tristan Sturrock

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prosecutor

Original Name : Ian Drysdale

Gender : Male

Character Name : Librarian

Original Name : Richard Dempsey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jackie Stewart

Original Name : Maddie Rice

Gender : Female

Character Name : Teacher #1

Original Name : Róisín Monaghan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Teacher #2

Original Name : Sarah Lockett

Gender : Male

Character Name : Main Workman

Original Name : Paul Candelent

Gender : Male

Character Name : Roy

Original Name : Joseph Potter

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rudy

Original Name : Richard Cant

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pier Visitor

Original Name : James Hare

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prison Officer

Original Name : Harry Attwell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Teddy Boy

Original Name : Michael Ayala-Cole

Gender : Male

Character Name : Julia

Original Name : Freya Mavor

Gender : Female

Character Name : Police Constable

Original Name : Brian Martin

Gender : Male

Reviews

Manuel São Bento

@msbreviews

2022-10-23

MORE SPOILER-FREE MINI-REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/other-films-watched-lff-2022 "My Policeman lacks everything: energy, surprises, good performances, and an interesting story. A hollow, dull, instantly forgettable movie that fails to deliver anything of merit. Harry Styles reveals many problems when a scene needs to be carried by him, even turning dramatic moments into laughable line deliveries. The older cast saves this from a total disaster by trying to sail the whole film to safe harbor. Not only is it by far the worst movie of the festival, but it's also difficult to find similar competition in 2022." Rating: D-

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-10-25

I was rather nervous about seeing this film. After his lacklustre "debut" in "Don't Worry Darling" I feared that Harry Styles was just going to turn up, smile, get naked, and that would be that. Well, to be fair, we have quite a bit more here in this engaging drama. David Dawson is also quite effective as art gallery curator "Patrick" who takes a bit of a shine to policeman "Tom" (Styles) after a cycle incident. The latter shows some interest in art and agrees to be drawn (in full constable's uniform). Nervous, "Patrick" gives his visitor some Scotch and well, you can imagine the rest. The thing is, of course, the UK in the 1950s was still pretty homophobic, and their behaviour must be clandestine to say the least. Simultaneously, "Tom" is trying to conform with a relationship with, and marriage to, "Marion" (Emma Corrin) but gradually she becomes aware that Princess Diana wasn't the only person to have three people in her marriage. Reported, somehow, to the authorities, "Patrick" faces ruin and violent imprisonment. This historical story is set within a rather less interesting template of modern day life, with the recently stroke-affected "Patrick" (a strong, if largely dialogue-free, effort from Rupert Everett) coming to live with the now going-through-the-motions "Marion" (Gina McKee) - whose reading of the invalid man's diaries provides us with the basis for the retrospective - and "Tom" (Linus Roache) and this rather downbeat scenario rather robs the film of any jeopardy and also drags the pace down into something akin to the soporific. Styles is not yet a very good actor. His frequent kissing scenes are quite clumsy to watch and he speaks in a sort of clipped manner suggesting the elocution people have got at him, but there is still something natural about his performance here. He gels well with the accomplished theatre actor Dawson, and the increasingly disaffected "Marion" is well portrayed by Corrin - all delivering a script that does enough to set the scene. It's a stylish production. Amazon have clearly thrown some money at it and combined with a pleasing score from Steven Price this presents us with a better than expected love story with just enough political sense to alert us to the difficulties faced by gay men as recently as 1957. Styles' participation in this movie is bound to raise the profile of the persecution culture that existed then, and still exists in many nations around the world now - and for that he also ought to be commended. It's a solid film, not a great one - but it is certainly worth a gander.