My Policeman

Greetings again from the darkness. This is one of those prestige movies that simply isn't as important as it portends to be. That doesn't mean it's unwatchable, only that it lacks the emotional weight and depth to which it strives. Director Michael Grandage (GENIUS, 2016) is working from a script that Ron Nyswaner (PHILADELPHIA, 1993) adapted from the 2012 book by Bethan Roberts ... itself inspired by the true story of writer EM Forster.

The film employs a familiar structure, alternating between the 1950s and 1990s, utilizing two sets of actors playing three main characters. Pop star Harry Styles and his handsome face and lush head of hair plays young police officer Tom, who one day at the beach is introduced to the lovely and educated Marion (Emma Corrin, Lady Di in "The Crown"). The two begin spending a good deal of time together with Tom being the perfect 'gentleman', even after an extended courtship. He introduces art-loving Marion to his friend Patrick (David Dawson, ALL THE OLD KNIVES, 2022), a museum curator who has many common interests with Marion ... including that of Tom.

The decades-later episodes find Marion (Gina McKee, IN THE LOOP, 2009) inviting stroke victim Patrick (Rupert Everett) to convalesce at the seaside village home she shares with long-time husband Tom (Linus Roche, BATMAN BEGINS, 2005). What we learn is that Marion has done so out of guilt and Tom is not happy with her for doing so, and completely avoids his long-ago friend by taking an inordinate number of walks with his dog along the shoreline. If the two time periods aren't enough for us to understand these relationships, older Marion begins reading Patrick's diaries from those past years and learns the details of what she suspected all along. This cruel invasion of privacy goes far beyond the doubts her younger self had when she saw the portrait of Tom that Patrick drew, or the time Patrick hired Tom as an assistant on art excursion to Venice.

The film opens with Dean Martin crooning his classic, "Memories are Made of This", and while it may be an obvious precursor to what we are to watch, it's always a pleasure to hear Dean on a modern sound system. The three characters navigate (quite poorly actually) a messy taboo triangle of love, passion, and deceit, making for a mostly sad story from all angles. It may stress the 1950's attitudes toward sexual preferences, but mostly it shows how the past is always present ... always hovering, even over once-close friendships and loves.

The film opens in select theaters on October 21 and on Prime Video on November 4, 2022.

This film was so much more than I was expecting! It's a beautiful story and the chemistry between the younger characters was fantastic.

This is a beautiful reminder of how far we have come and a shocking reminder of how things used to be in the 1950s

The intimacy scenes were wonderful and tastefully shot. From early on you can feel the spark and tension between Tom and Patrick.

David Dawson is a brilliant Patrick and Harry styles did a great job with Tom. Emma corrin was wonderful as always.

My only criticism is I didn't recognise the older characters to be a good fit. They didn't seem to embody the characters as the younger actors.

All in all a great movie which left me in tears.

I've not read the book this is based on, so I'm torn if this is actually something of value or just a film version of something similar to a 1950's paperback type novel about "forbidden love." Somehow it has the feel of both. One thing it does have is a miscast actor as the pivotal character in this love triangle between two men and a one woman. Harry Styles showed a lot of potential in his small role in Dunkirk and he is not terrible here at all, but he totally lacks any sort of gravity or depth necessary for this role. He's a novice and it shows. Somehow the film is still interesting despite that. It's a three character film played by six actors in two different time periods, the late 1950's and the early 2000's. The other five all give fine performances of which I appreciated Gina McKee the most. This is very well directed, though it is not exactly an original storyline, but it still has relevancy and it is also a reminder of just how far gay rights have come since those horrid times not that many years ago. This is ultimately a sad story of three people who were never able to have the lives they wanted, most of that society's fault, some their own. There are some good old songs used to great effect here and the whole film has an appropriate mood. It's flawed, but I still admire some of it even if it might be similar to a 1950's forbidden love paperback.

Laid-back, understated, emotionally honest look at forbidden love in 1950s Britain and what it does to three people who love each other to varying extents, with a judicious, unshowy screenplay by Ron Nyswaner ("Philadelphia") and tender direction by Michael Grandage. It makes Brighton look gorgeous, and it peers into the lives of teacher Marion, policeman Tom, and museum curator Patrick with an appealing non-judgmentalism. You can pick at it: Why does the latter-day Tom treat Patrick like that, and how much does Marion know and when does she know it, and why don't we find out more about Marion's BFF, and the 1999 sequences aren't as rooted in 1999 as the 1957 sequences are in 1957. I still don't see what everyone sees in Harry Styles, it's a timid performance that could use more swagger. But the rest of the cast is excellent, and the fadeout had everyone around me weeping.

Not reading the book, being interested by music of Harry Stiles and admiring Rupert Everett, it is just easy to not ignore this movie.

The expectation - maybe influenced by Firebird by Peeter Rabane. Sure, different context but same spider webb of intolerance .

The film is just gifted. Good acting, fair story, seductive images.

But you can not feel the tension , emotions and the deepness of the inner fights of characters.

So, you have one verdict - a beautiful film. But the connections are too fragile and you feel entire story as exterior one .

But it works.

And the delicate bitterness remains a precious gift from Michael Grandage.