My Policeman premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 11, where it received a standing ovation.
The period drama is one of two films starring Harry Styles that will be released this autumn, as the pop star is also playing the lead alongside Florence Pugh in Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling, which is set to be released on September 23.
My Policeman will be released just weeks later, much to the delight of Styles’s fans.
Find out everything you need to know about My Policeman below.
My Policeman synopsis
My Policeman is based on Bethan Roberts’s 2012 romance novel of the same name. The film tells the story of a closeted gay police officer in 1957, as he navigates life in a time when it was illegal to be gay.
It’s “a tale of forbidden romance and changing social conventions,” that follows policeman Tom, teacher Marion, and museum curator Patrick “on an emotional journey that spans decades”.
My Policeman cast
My Policeman follows its characters across their lives, so each of the three main characters are played by two actors.
Tom is played by Harry Styles and Linus Roache, Marion is played by Emma Corrin and Gina McKee, and Patrick is played by David Dawson and Rupert Everett.
My Policeman reviews
My Policeman has received mixed reviews after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The Guardian’s Benjamin Lee gave the film two stars and said: “Harry Styles is arrestingly awkward in [this] stodgy gay romance.”
For Deadline, Pete Hammond wrote: “It is a handsome-looking production, and always kept my interest, but for me, it doesn’t quite reach its full potential.”
Ryan Lattanzio wrote in IndieWire that Styles’s performance “registers as a blank beyond inscrutable gazes and sappy breakdowns.
“To play a repressed gay man involved in a steamy, behind-closed-doors affair requires levels of complexity and conveying inner turmoil that Styles can’t provide.”
Variety editor Jenelle Riley said: “The performances in My Policeman really make the movie and they’re solid all-around. But Harry Styles carries the film with a subtle but passionate performance that should silence any doubters.”
Entertainment reporter Teri Hart said: “So very moved by My Policeman. The injustice and cruelty towards homosexuals, specifically in the UK, is devastating to watch.
“Harry Styles shines as Tom... also, Gina McKee and Emma Corrin are fabulous.”
Critic Jeff Sneider said: “The embargo is up and I can now say that My Policeman left me absolutely devastated. I loved it. I needed some time after the screening because I was such a mess.
“One of the best movies of the year. David Dawson demands an Oscar nomination and Gina McKee was fabulous as well.”
My Policeman release date and how to watch
My Policeman will be released in cinemas on October 21, before being released on Amazon Prime on November 4.
