Where’s a good ‘Policeman’ when you need one?
Pop sensation Harry Styles takes pride in his sexual ambiguity. And he effectively demonstrates it in his convincing portrayal of a London bobby forced to hide his love away at a time when being gay could get you tossed in prison.
So, partly out of guilt, and partly for appearance, his Tom takes a clueless wife in Marion (Emma Corrin) while secretly lusting after museum director, Patrick (David Dawson). As the film opens, an aged, dying Patrick (Rupert Evertt) is wheeled into the seaside retirement cottage shared by Tom (Linus Roache) and Marion (Gina McKee), setting the stage for a reflective odyssey marked by a trove of stilted flashbacks to when the trio was young and adventurous. So, to and fro we go, bouncing from the dreary present to the even gloomier 1950s.
Director Michael Grandage does little to interrupt the monotony in failing to make a point beyond how stifling it was to be gay in mid-century England. In turn, the cast struggles to create depth in cardboard characters with little to no personality.
It’s a slog made worse by the irksome task of keeping straight which actor is the silver-haired Tom. It’s Roache, but oddly enough, Everett looks more like an elder Tom. And it’s Roache who best resembles a young Patrick. But then, it’s in keeping with the film’s futile search for identity. How ironic!
Movie review
My Policeman
Rated: R
Cast: Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, David Dawson, Rupert Evertt, Linus Roache and Gina McKee
Director: Michael Grandage
Writer: Ron Nyswaner
Runtime: 113 minutes
Where to see: Amazon Prime
Grade: C-
