Harry Styles has said TIFF Special Presentations selection My Policeman, Michael Grandage’s tale of forbidden romance in 1950s Britain, is about “wasted time”.
The film, based on Ron Nyswaner’s adaptation of the 2012 novel by Bethan Roberts, follows three people – Tom, a closeted gay policeman played by Styles; Marion portrayed by Emma Corrin who is an earnest schoolteacher and wife to Tom; and Patrick, a well-travelled and cultured museum curator played by David Dawson who sparks a fiery and passionate love triangle.
The film cuts to the characters’ older selves – played by Linus Roache, Gina McKee and Rupert Everett – who we see living under the crushing weight of past regret.
It’s this epiphany about making the most of your life that was the main take-away for Styles, the pop star and actor who also stars in Olivia Wilde’s recent Venice world premiere Don’t Worry Darling.
“The whole story is about wasted time,” he said at Sunday’s (September 11) press conference ahead of the world premiere that night. “I think wasted time is the most devastating thing because it’s the only thing we can’t control. It’s the one thing we can’t have back.
“So the one thing that I think matters, whatever kind of life you’ve lived, is that, at the end, you can look back on time spent with people you love.”
Styles opened up about how surrendering himself to the role of Tom, a man desperate to find love and freedom, allowed him to learn more about himself.
“I think the most beautiful thing about the story is that all of the characters have some really nice qualities,” he said. “And they also have some flaws that it might help not to have, but as humans we have them and I think that’s why it kind of resonated with me so much.”
When My Policeman opens it is 1950s Britain and homosexuality is illegal in the UK. The film fast-forwards several decades to a time when society has become much more accepting, despite stringent laws still being in place.
The retelling of 1950s Britain was what first drew Grandage to the powerful queer story. “There was a personal connection of some kind because I was born into the England that is represented at the start of this film,” he said.
“And, as a gay man, that meant a great deal, because in the last 60 years we’ve made incredible changes and the world we find ourselves in now is very different to the one that’s represented in the film in 1957.”
Grandage shared that he thinks progressive changes in society are beginning to feel “a little fragile at the moment”, so the story is timely and relevant. “I hope My Policeman can be part of a debate that’s going on right now.”
Echoing Grandage’s thoughts Corrin, who plays the younger version of Marion, said that the portrayals of forbidden love and prejudice in the film were, unfortunately, “timeless” in society today.
Interestingly, some of the panel had a slightly different perspective on what My Policeman reveals about today. Roache, who plays the older Tom, said, “no matter how much we grumble about the times we’re in, we’re actually extremely lucky’’. McKee added that she felt optimistic about the future because while the characters will always be bound, “they’re bound by their choices as opposed to victims of their time”.
Roache added, “I just hope people talk a lot about it like this, because it’s so rich, it’s so complex and art reflects life and we learn through it.”
There are upcoming screenings of My Policeman on Monday, Friday and Saturday. Prime Video holds rights.
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