Director Michael Grandage’s My Policeman made its world premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival to a positive reception. The ensemble cast which includes Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Gina McKee, Linus Roache, David Dawson, and Rupert Everett, won the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance. While on the surface the film seems like a flawless romantic drama about forbidden love, per Hollywood Reporter, for lead actor Styles the story is about “wasted time.”
Set in the 1950s the movie follows a police officer Tom (Styles), who falls for a local museum curator Patrick (Dawson), the two have to keep their relationship a secret as homosexuality in 50s Britain is illegal. Meanwhile, Tom marries a school teacher Marion (Corrin) whose jealousy would prove destructive for the trio. Further, in the 1990s the three (played by Roache, Everett, and McKee, respectively) are regretful but seek to repair the damage done 40 years earlier.
Speaking about the movie, Styles revealed that the story's theme of time lost was particularly devastating for him. “I think wasted time is the most devastating thing,” he said. The movie touches on the concept of people not making the most of their lives. The time jump and regret of the characters further enhance this aspect. Styles feels the loss of love and time is devastating, “because it’s the one thing we cannot control.” Further adding,
It’s the one thing you can’t have back. And I think the one thing that I think matters — whatever kind of life you’ve lived — at the end when you think back on time with people you love.
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He further emphasized that the most “beautiful thing” about the movie is that the characters “have some really nice qualities, and they also have some flaws that we might hope not to have but, as humans, we all have them.” Further adding, “And I think, at different points in the story, you’re able to see bits of yourself and sometimes maybe not your favorite parts of yourself in different characters. And I think that’s why it kind of resonated with me so much.” Grandage previously revealed that what drew him and Styles to the project is the “political aspect” of the story and the whole experience was about making a film that has “something to say as part of a bigger debate” in the modern times.
My Policeman debuts in theatres on October 21 and on Prime Video on November 4. Meanwhile, you can check out the trailer below: