“My Policeman” Offers a Uniquely Moving Twist to the Common Love Story

My Policeman is a beautifully tragic love story highlighting a queer relationship in the 1950s. The film is an adaptation of a book by the same name, written by Bethan Roberts, and stars big names such as Harry Styles as Tom Burgess, David Dawson as Patrick Hazelwood, and Emma Corrin as Marion Taylor. 

It’s not a stretch to say the movie’s primary audience came from the cast, specifically from famous singer Harry Styles. Styles has been in three other roles prior to this film, with minor roles in Dunkirk and Marvel’s Eternals and one much more significant role in the new Don’t Worry Darling. Dawson’s biggest role was in the series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, and Corrin’s was for her most recent role in Netflix’s The Crown as Princess Diana.

The movie’s trailer was released on September 7th and has garnered much interest until its release on November 4th, which you can watch on Prime Video. 

At its core, this movie is about wasted time and a love destined to be melancholy from the second it starts.

One thing about this movie that many people agree on is its realistic perspective on homosexuality in the 1950s. There is a defining difference between how Patrick and Tom view their sexuality. Patrick doesn’t feel guilty about his identity, but Tom, on the other hand, is just starting to uncover this part of his life and feels much more guilty. This part bleeds into the older version of Tom, whose perspective the story is told from, as he resents Patrick. 

The story is particularly special in the way that all of them ruined each other’s lives in one way or another. Yet, though their actions were cruel, they were acted upon based on emotion and love.  

Tom’s character is especially interesting because he doesn’t regret his relationship with Patrick, but he was young, selfish, and blinded by his love for someone else. He wanted to live the perfect life with Marion, explore his sexuality with Patrick, and be happy, but his actions as he attempted to do so ended with him living with Marion, unhappy. 

A big part of the plot is when Marion turns Patrick in for his relationship with Tom, getting him arrested and Tom fired from the police force. Like most actions in the movie, it was purely reactionary, based on anger more than anything, wanting to ensure that they would not be together because she wanted Tom for herself. 

The movie’s end is one of the most beautiful parts. Marion confesses to Tom that she is the one who turned in Patrick and forces him to realize the basis of lies their marriage is built on and that Patrick is his true love. Then, she leaves Tom, knowing she’s made the right decision by taking herself out of the equation and allowing Tom and Patrick to finally be together.  

The audience and critic reviews for My Policeman differed drastically. According to Rotten Tomatoes, audience reviews are 96% which is significantly better than the critic reviews, which are 45%. 

The biggest complaint about the movie is criticism of the movie’s unoriginality. Sadly, some critic reviews seem to be bordering on homophobia, saying things like a movie about a queer couple has been done too many times. However, I disagree. You could say the same thing about a movie with a heterosexual couple. 

One of my favorite scenes from the movie is when Marion puts her hand out the window in the car scene. It shows that she finally feels free and happy again. The film’s score added even more depth to the scenes and was a nice touch by the team; the music followed the emotion of the scenes and characters, connecting the viewers to the storyline. It was a beautiful movie with stunning cinematography. All around, My Policeman was definitely enjoyable and worth giving a watch.