Pop star. Beauty mogul. Hollywood actor. Harry Styles is a man of many talents, and now he’s adding “leading man” to his repertoire with Prime Video’s romantic drama My Policeman. So what do we think of his latest project? We’re pleased to say that Styles still hasn’t missed his mark, manifesting a delicate and intimate performance as the kind-hearted police officer Tom Burgess.
My Policeman is set in London in the 1950s, at a time when being gay was illegal. Styles’ Tom falls for a museum curator named Patrick (played by David Dawson) and becomes close friends with a young teacher named Marion (Emma Corrin). The trio forge a beautiful friendship, but there’s a dangerous secret at its centre that threatens to destroy them all.
A FORBIDDEN LOVE TRIANGLE
Tom, a working-class kid from Brighton who hasn’t seen much of the world or figured out his place in it, is emotionally unequipped to find himself at the centre of this love triangle. He loves Patrick and Marion, but he doesn’t know how to be honest with them, a dichotomy that often leads to awkward declarations of love and half-hearted confessions.
Perceptions about Styles’ acting skills give weight to these scenes, pushing our perception of his character as one whose unabashed passion is only tempered by inexperience. Is Tom an awkward character because he’s played by an inexperienced actor? In a way that’s true, but only because Styles has chosen to emphasise these parts of the character.
“My Policeman is a story about the complexity of love, about how deep and lasting it is, that also challenges the idea there can be only one straight-forward view of love,” Styles said about the film. “Each of the characters experiences different kinds of love, and different consequences for not being honest, which makes it a fascinating journey. I think perhaps everyone can see themselves in these characters and that will be, I hope, an invitation for people to be more accepting.”
A LOVE LIKE THIS
It might sound easy to judge Tom for not committing to either of his loves, but at one point he’s literally told that single police officers aren’t as successful as their married co-workers. The implication is clear: his bosses will assume that any man who remains single past a certain age is gay and will actively keep them from rising the ranks. (In addition to the police chasing, arresting, and beating gay men.)
Styles brings a vulnerability to the role which makes Tom’s actions — even the flawed ones — easy to relate to. I think a lot of us have accidentally hurt people we care about because we don’t see any other way forward, but we always try our best to do the right thing.
And then there’s Styles’ charismatic pop star persona, which draws out the other, more public side of Tom. He’s easy to talk to, quick to smile, and eager to learn about art. It’s no wonder Marion and Patrick both fall for him. Revelling in their tender and passionate relationships, My Policeman celebrates female and queer desire while acknowledging that, just because society tried to outlaw these feelings, they never actually stopped being felt.
THE PAST AND THE PRESENT
My Policeman is split into two timelines: 1957, when Tom, Patrick, and Marion are inseparable, and 1999. By this point, Tom and Marion (now played by Linus Roache and Gina McKee, respectively) are married and haven’t seen or spoken to Patrick (Rupert Everett) in years. It’s only after Patrick has a stroke and Marion invites him to live with them that the trio are reunited. The first half of the movie teases the audience with questions about what, exactly, went wrong between them, setting it up as a kind of mystery.
“Something beautiful, exciting, and deeply cherished happened between these three people in 1957. So how did that turn into such a tragedy? That’s what they need to figure out,” screenwriter Ron Nyswaner teased. “In 1999, they put together the puzzle of a past they never resolved, never apologised for, and never were able to fully understand until now.”
Styles sparkles in the lead role, but you only fully appreciate his character’s conflicted feelings thanks to beautiful performances by Corrin and Dawson. Emma Corrin is heartbreaking as Marion, who wants Tom all to herself, while David Dawson, an openly queer actor, brings an authenticity to Patrick, who represents the life Tom desires for himself. Their friendship, and the romances that emerge from it, are immediately recognisable for people who have a found family or have ever questioned their sexuality.
In case it wasn’t already perfectly clear, Styles has succeeded in his first leading role in My Policeman. He’s sometimes painfully believable as the sweet and rough Tom and has oodles of on-screen chemistry with Corrin and Dawson. Their heartfelt performances are anchored by Styles’ to tell a heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful, story about friendship, desire and love.
