After what feels like years of waiting, My Policeman — the movie we have unofficially dubbed “Harry Styles’ bi cop movie starring Emma Corrin as the third wheel” — has finally had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. From there, it’ll move onto its European Premiere at the London Film Festival before hitting theatres and Amazon Prime towards the end of the month. Amazon Studios, who produced the movie, clearly have high hopes based on the reviews: they’ve revealed they’ll be campaigning for Harry, Emma and their co-star David Dawson to win Oscars.
To kick off that Oscar campaign, filmmaker Michael Grandage has now revealed the… surprising sources of inspiration he chose to prepare for the sex scenes in the film. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the director cited 1963’s The Servant, a black-and-white psychological drama about class, as well as 1959’s Hiroshima mon amour (a romantic drama in which a French actress embarks on an illicit affair with a married Japanese architect) and, perhaps most bizarrely, the classic horror Don’t Look Now, which reaches its terrifying, uncanny conclusion — no spoilers here — in Venice, the same location Patrick and Tom steal away to in My Policeman.
An extensive sex scene in Don’t Look Now caused controversy at the time (it was released back in the 1970s), and Michael clearly wanted to inspire in his actors that same sense of provocative intimacy. The film sources are also intended, he says, to mark a difference between the kind of sex Patrick has with Tom and the kind he has with his wife, Marion. For Marion and Tom, he says, “a story about the difficulty of the intimacy”, whereas with Tom and Patrick, there’s more of a sense of “ease and abandonment”.
“Often we just go, ‘And now, the intimacy scene — one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, and gone’,” says the filmmaker. “But I said, ‘What happens if you extend those moments into scenes that are as big as some of the other scenes?’”
What are the reviews like so far?
The reviews were strong out of TIFF: The Playlist singled out Harry’s performance, saying he “wonderfully inhabits a working-class man fearful of public scrutiny but unable to hide his true self”. Meanwhile, Deadline writes “Between Don’t Worry Darling and My Policeman, [Harry] is quickly proving to be the real deal as an actor, and he is very convincing here” adding that it was a “handsome-looking production”.
On Twitter, critics and TIFF attendees have been commenting too:
This is the second Harry Styles movies we get this year — the first, of course, being the steamy, creepy (and drama-causing) Don’t Worry Darling. But what’s this movie about? Where was it filmed? And what exactly are the chances of Harry getting an Oscar nomination next year? All of this and more below.
What’s the plot of My Policeman?
Based on a 2012 book by author Bethan Roberts, My Policeman is a decades-spanning story that focuses on the life of Marion and local policeman Tom, a lovestruck couple living in 1950s Brighton. Their lives are sent into a tailspin with the arrival of Patrick. He’s a handsome older gentleman, enamoured by Tom, and together the trio live shielding their relationship from a homophobic society until the dynamic reaches a complex breaking point. The story jumps between the 1990s and the 1950s, focusing on the same characters. The book predominantly focuses on Patrick’s perspective, so it’s thought the script may have been written to focus on Marion and Tom, considering Emma and Harry are the big casting choices.
Who’s in the cast?
Alongside Emma Corrin, who plays Marion, and Harry, who plays Tom Burgess, My Policeman stars Luther and The Last Kingdom actor David Dawson as Patrick. The older version of Emma’s character are played by Gina McKee, star of Notting Hill and Black Narcissus. Homeland star Linus Roache will play the older version of Harry’s character, while Rupert Everett plays the older Patrick.
Is there a trailer?
Yes! Although previously we got a short teaser for the film, we now have a full length trailer to enjoy. We watch the sweet early days of Marion and Tom’s marriage and the lingering gazes between Tom and Patrick before things heat up – both sexually and emotionally.
And who’s behind the camera?
Perhaps the biggest selling point for the movie’s talent has been the screenplay. The book’s adaptation was written by Ron Nyswaner, who was nominated for an Oscar for his Philadelphia script in 1994. More recently, he’s been writing on Homeland for TV. This is his first major movie in six years. Theatre director Michael Grandage is the movie’s director, while Caroline Levy is the executive producer. Having worked on The Lighthouse and Colette, she most recently wrapped work on The Nightingale, a war story starring Dakota and Elle Fanning. On cinematography duties is Ben Davies, who shot Eternals with Chloé Zhao as well as the forthcoming The Banshees of Inisherin.
Will Harry Styles get nominated for an Oscar for My Policeman?
In theory, it’s possible. Variety has learned that Amazon will be submitting Harry, Emma and David all in the supporting acting categories. (No word yet on the category they’ll submit Emma, who is non-binary, in; the Academy’s categories are still gendered.)
The campaigning begins now, and Variety guesses that — if Amazon hope to get their stars a nomination — it rests on the BAFTA response to the film. The BAFTA nominations will be announced on 2 February, shortly before the Academy’s voting body make their final calls.
Is there nudity in My Policeman?
Now the film has been seen, we can confirm that it contains several sex scenes, between both Tom and Marion and Tom and Patrick. They’re all artfully shot — only arses, thank you very much! — but far more exposing than you might have anticipated.
Speaking about My Policeman and his upcoming sexy psycho-thriller Don’t Worry Darling, Harry confirmed there will be “saucy scenes” in both. “I don’t know if you can watch either with your parents,” he said. “I’m gonna have to do another one.”
Roman also asked Harry if, like the cast of Bridgerton, had used a “deflated netball” as an assist. Harry replied: “I’ve personally had no experience with a netball. It depends very much on who you’re working with and what the situation is. All I can say, from my experience, is that we were very lucky to have a trusting relationship with the people we were working with and that came first.” Harry continued. “It’s me and you and we trust each other, and at any point we can stop whenever.” He concluded, “I’d never done that before,” before adding, “on camera at least.”
What’s the age rating then?
According to documents obtained by Harry Styles Daily and Harry Styles Updates, the MPA have given My Policeman an R-rating for “sexual content.”
Where did My Policeman film and when?
My Policeman filmed in the summer of 2021 in Brighton and London. Based on paparazzi photos of Harry in London and reports by FilmUpdates, it’s thought shooting kicked off in the capital and moved to Brighton at a later date.
Did any photos from the set of My Policeman leak?
Short answer: yes, and lots of them. Just when you thought House of Gucci was the only movie you’d see every scene of pre-release, My Policeman’s filming moved to Brighton and the stans caught on. A mix of paparazzi shots and fan photos have been released onto the internet alongside video too. We got our first look at his policeman get-up, and then some previews of his scenes with Emma Corrin, including one in which the pair kiss, courtesy of TikTok-using Harry stans who have taken it upon themselves to document the whole process of filming.
One girl on TikTok even ‘storytimed’ her realisation that Harry was in Brighton from the moment she’d learned of his arrival all the way through to seeing him live and in the flesh on set.
Why do the clapperboards say Wakefield?
In order to throw stans off the scent of shooting locations, many high profile movies (or those with starry casts, like My Policeman) will adopt secret working titles during filming. By the looks of the paparazzi shots, it seems like My Policeman was shot under the title Wakefield.
Former Harry collaborator Christopher Nolan does this a lot, too. Dunkirk was shot under the title Bodega Bay; The Dark Knight used Rory’s First Kiss.
When is the red carpet world premiere of My Policeman?
Prior to its global release in October, My Policeman had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, famously a launch pad for the big Oscar titles that year.
The film will next be seen at its European Premiere in London, as part of the BFI London Film Festival in October. Get your tickets here.
When is it being released?
You can watch the bisexual Harry Styles fantasy you’ve been manifesting since you were a 13-year-old Directioner when it hits UK and US cinemas on 21 October 2022, before heading to Amazon Prime to stream globally from 4 November 2022.