My Policeman

My Policeman is a 2022 American romantic drama film based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Bethan Roberts and directed by Michael Grandage. The film stars Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Gina McKee, Linus Roache, David Dawson, and Rupert Everett.

My Policeman had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2022 and is scheduled to be released in the United States on 21 October 2022 by Amazon Studios before its streaming release on 4 November 2022 by Prime Video. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Dawson’s performance but criticised the direction and the screenplay.

 

It was announced in September 2020 that Amazon Studios would produce the film. Michael Grandage was set to direct a screenplay written by Ron Nyswaner, with Harry Styles and Lily James entering negotiations to star. James would exit negotiations by February 2021, with Emma Corrin replacing her. In March 2021, David Dawson, Linus Roache and Rupert Everett joined the cast of the film. In June 2021, Kadiff Kirwan joined the cast of the film.

Principal photography began in April 2021. Filming took place in London and Brighton and Hove. In Hove, filming took place at The Regency Town House in Brunswick Square for a wedding scene

My Policeman had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2022. It screened at the Adelaide Film Festival from 19 October 2022, before it had a limited theatrical release in the United States on 21 October 2022 and streamed on Prime Video from 4 November 2022.

• Harry Styles as young Tom Burgess
• Emma Corrin as young Marion Taylor
• Gina McKee as Marion Taylor
• Linus Roache as Tom Burgess
• David Dawson as young Patrick Hazlewood
• Rupert Everett as Patrick Hazlewood

Full Plot

Retirees Marion and Tom live in the English seaside town of Peacehaven. After learning that their former friend, Patrick, from decades past, has suffered a debilitating stroke, Marion agrees to take him into their home and becomes his caregiver. Tom resents Marion for allowing him back into their lives and refuses to acknowledge Patrick’s existence in the house. While sorting through Patrick’s belongings, she comes across his journal from the late 1950’s, which reflects on his past relationship with Tom. In 1957 Brighton, museum curator Patrick Hazelwood meets policeman Tom Burgess after reporting an accident. Patrick leaves Tom his business card, and Tom visits him at the museum he works at. Patrick invites Tom to his flat one night to draw him. The two have drinks, and Tom initiates physical touch, and they engage in oral sex. Afterward, a shaken Tom abruptly leaves. Patrick later visits a gay bar one night and begins having sex with a stranger in an alley before they are caught by the police. Patrick manages to run away and finds Tom waiting for him at his flat. Tom admits his feelings, and the two have sex, resulting in a passionate romance.

Due to legal penalties against homosexuality, as well as Tom’s fear of jeopardizing his job at the police force, they carry on their relationship in secret. Tom meets schoolteacher Marion Taylor and begins courting her. He introduces her to Patrick, and they become fast friends, bonding over their shared interest in the arts. Soon, the three of them become inseparable. Tom later proposes to Marion, and they marry, but his relationship with Patrick continues. When he visits Tom and Marion at their home, she discovers the two of them in an affectionate embrace, triggering her underlying suspicions of Tom’s sexuality. Marion feels angered and betrayed, which is exacerbated when Patrick invites Tom to accompany him on a business trip to Venice as his assistant. Shortly after their return, Patrick is arrested by Brighton police due to an anonymous report accusing him of homosexual activities. The case goes to trial, where Marion testifies on his behalf, but Patrick’s journal entries, detailing his romantic and sexual relationship with Tom, are brought into evidence, resulting in his conviction. Patrick is sentenced to two years in prison, and Tom is fired from the police force. As Tom and Marion try to move on with their lives, he professes his love for her and vows they never speak of Patrick again.

In the present, Marion confesses to Tom that she is the one who reported Patrick, as a last effort to win him back, and has been living with guilt ever since. She challenges him into realizing their marriage has been based on lies and that Patrick has always been his true love. She tells him she is leaving him and asks that he take care of Patrick and love him. After Marion’s departure, Tom visits Patrick in his room, and they lovingly embrace each other.

Hanna Flint – Time Out

Caroline Siede – Fox 10 Phoenix

Barry Hertz – Globe and Mail

Greg Hyde – Under the Radar

Louisa Moore – Screen Zealots

Directed by 

Michael Grandage

Writing Credits  

Ron Nyswaner	…	(screenplay by)
Bethan Roberts	…	(based upon the book by)

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