My Policeman

My Policeman

In the late 1990s, the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick into Marion and Tom’s home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when homosexuality was illegal.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 120 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, Romance
  • Stars: Emma Corrin, Harry Styles, David Dawson, Linus Roache, Gina McKee, Rupert Everett, Dora Davis, Kadiff Kirwan, Andrew Tiernan, Jack Bandeira, Tristan Sturrock, Richard Dempsey, Maddie Rice, Róisín Monaghan, Pierre Bergman, Paul Candelent, Sarah Lockett, Ian Drysdale, Joseph Potter, Harry Attwell, James Hare, James Hare-Cole, Richard Cant
  • Director: Michael Grandage
 Comments
  • agnieszkasergiew - 23 January 2024
    Bitter-sweet, emotionally engaging and touching
    This movie was not what I expected. The characters were not what I expected. Nothing was black or white and I loved it.

    The plot was well-paced, the interactions between the characters were natural. Actors did great job here, the music created the perfect atmosphere, the chemistry was there. And what I loved the most about this movie was how the problem of having different sexuality at that time was depicted - and how much harm it could cause to just baselessly hate someone who is different than the majority. As the movie progresses, you can find yourself feeling more and more injustice for the characters and how their lives went off only because of the painful prejudice of the society as well as their own.
  • li0904426 - 29 July 2023
    Overall this is a very good movie!!
    The movie "My Policeman" is a great work of art, with exceptional qualities such as its screenplay, direction, and art design. It is a movie adaptation of Bethan Roberts' novel, set in Britain during the 1950s and 1990s. It tells the story of a love triangle involving a policeman, a teacher, and a museum curator, as they experience a forbidden romance. As the characters age, they must confront the repercussions of their earlier decisions.

    As a gay man, director Michael Grandage effectively portrayed the societal pressure that LGBTQ+ individuals face from family, friends, and colleagues simply (and ONLY) for being attracted to the same gender. This pressure persists today and contributes to the high rate of suicide among LGBTQ+ individuals. The movie highlights how this pressure was even more intense during the 1950s.

    The lead actors delivered very good performances, and it was evident that Harry Styles, while still relatively new to acting, has immense potential. With continued dedication, he has the makings of a major movie star in the near future.
  • scottinhawaii-1 - 26 February 2023
    Well done if well trod territory
    There's really nothing new here.

    But it's well done, the cinematography, set decoration and costumes are terrific.

    Good performances from all. I was pleasantly surprise to see that steamy of a gay sex scene. They have what appears as genuine chemistry.

    I find Rupert a bit insufferable in his later roles, but he has a barely a speaking role. "Where's Tom?" is his biggest line.

    Harry is pretty good. Best when he's using subtlety. Like his reaction in bed in the "Don't ruin it" scene.

    Oh IMDB wants more words: it's a sad story. No getting around that. But like I started out, we've heard variations on this story many times.
  • qdzgzhxzn - 24 December 2022
    Lifechanging
    I'm a young gay man. I watched this movie because I had seen and heard about it here and there, and figured it was worth a watch.

    I must say, this film changed my life.

    It exposed me to a perspective I didn't even know existed. I knew that life for LGBTQ+ people in history was never easy, but this movie made that idea a reality for me. It synthesized what being gay meant in the past, and just how much people had to go through in their day to day lives. It made me realize just how awful being lonely truly is.

    But it also reinvigorated my hope. It showed me that there are good people who care, and that people can change. It showed me just how much I have to be thankful for, in that I've never been more thankful to be gay than right now in this moment.

    The movie isn't perfect but it's darn pretty good. If you're anything like me this movie will mean something to you too, so give it a watch and see if it changed your life too.
  • Kirpianuscus - 4 December 2022
    delicate bitterness
    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.
  • mmashmann - 25 November 2022
    I wanted to like this film.
    I had hoped to like this movie more than I actually did. It is beautifully filmed, and at first I felt badly for all of the characters. Then it all came down to a lot of deceit. Tom pretended to be straight, and then we find out that Marion set Patrick up for his trip to court. For me, Patrick is the only person for whom I felt the least bit of compassion. Even so, he was messing around with Tom behind Marion's back. I wouldn't want any of these folks for a friend. The worst travesty is the ridiculous ending. Tom didn't show a shred of empathy for Patrick's condition, but suddenly was filled with kindness and care for him only when his wife finally left. There was no hint whatsoever that Tom would make this life-changing turnabout as the story came to a conclusion. All I can think is, "There's no fool like an old fool." And this film had three of them.
  • Boristhemoggy - 17 November 2022
    It's a bust.
    I knew who all of the main actors were prior to seeing the film but I had not seen them acting in anything. But the story sounded good: young couple in love, he also loves another at the same time.

    The story is riveting, it's beautiful, and it says much about the social attitudes and values during the 50's compared to the present.

    There are many scenes in the film where nothing happens, it could easily have lost 20 minutes and benefitted enormously. I kept checking my watch to see how long it was before it finished. However had it been paced better I would have said it was a classic film apart from 1 single thing that wrecked the entire film: The casting of Harry Styles.

    Now I know he embraces all sexualities and is a modern man I don't doubt that at all. But he can't act. So as much as the story might resonate with him, he does not resonate with me.

    I think with such a marvellous story and such talented and flawless actors, casting Styles ruined the opportunity and I cynically believe that it was an attempt to attract an LGBT audience.

    I gave it a 6 but that's mostly for the story and the other actors. Without Styles it would easily have been an 8.