‘My Policeman’ Review: Naam Bade Darshan Chote Perfectly Summarises This Harry Styles Starrer Romantic Drama Sans Romance
Having a couple of gay romances, I can attest these well-written tropes can truly melt your heart and make you feel gooey on the inside! But the keyword, here, is well-written. Because it does not matter if you can relate to same-sex love stories or not, it is the love between the two characters that keeps you hooked throughout the story. The ups and downs they face, how they fight through it all, how they fight for each other and how much they love each other during trying times are what make the book or movie on gay romance worth it. And I sincerely felt that all of this severely lacking in the recently released My Policeman.
View this post on Instagram
Directed by Michael Grandage and based on the eponymous book written by Bethan Roberts, My Policeman, was less about the policeman and his true love, and more about the times he got hot and heavy with him. I was excited to see Harry Styles portray a role of this kind because honestly, I love his music concerts! I wanted to see if he puts in the same amount of effort he does in his concerts, in this movie, too. But sadly, he does not pour in half of it! Other than Styles, the cast of the film includes Emma Corrin and David Dawson. They play the younger parts in the film whereas Linus Roache, Gina McKee and Rupert Everett play the older roles.
View this post on Instagram
The plot of the film swings between two timelines simultaneously. The time when Harry AKA Tom, David AKA Patrick and Emma AKA Marion were young and the present time when they have grown old. Patrick is a friend of Tom and Emma’s and keeps visiting them often. Speaking of their professions, Tom is the titular policeman; Emma is a school teacher, and Patrick works at the museum.
I don’t what leads to the start of a relationship between Tom and Patrick because the next thing I know they are having sex. Patrick knows he is gay while Tom has not figured that bit out yet. Tom also gets married to Marion, I don’t know why. He clearly does not love her so I did not understand the point of getting married to a woman when he is not straight.
So, moving on, Tom and Patrick regularly enjoy having sex, until one day Marion sort of realises that something is fishy or more like ‘bony’ between the two. But she only blames Patrick for “encouraging” Tom’s homosexual traits. She wishes to “change” him.
View this post on Instagram
The film is set in 1950s Britain when it was a crime to be homosexual. The police were given the right to arrest people and imprison gay people. And there is a scene when Patrick goes down on one of his hookups and the police arrive at the same time, catching hold of his lover while he barely escapes. So, Tom and Patrick have to secretly meet and bone.
Since the timelines keep switching between the past and the present, the opening scene of the film reveals that Patrick has suffered a stroke and Marion has brought him home to take care of him. And Tom is shown to be angry with Patrick and not even looking in his direction, let alone speaking to him.
The plot keeps altering to what happened when they were young and what is happening in the present. It felt like this swinging was just kept to fulfil the lack of a concrete plot. To show the audience that they have a story to tell when actually, it was all porous. If I had to summarise the storyline of My Policeman, I would simply say it is about two men who have a lot of sex in their young days while the wife of one of them suspects that they are!
You know the title of the film always holds massive significance. The meaning of the title should be justified in the movie which did not happen here. So, when the movie ended, I did not understand what to make of it. Kya hua policeman ko? We don’t don’t!
Coming to the characters, Harry Styles was a total misfit as Tom. He did not suit the part, and he did not even try to fit his character’s description. He had a straight face throughout the movie. His dialogue delivery was also bland and emotionless. Emma Corrin as Marion did a good job, but she was unable to do justice to her role because Harry’s forcibly tried to occupy all frames he shared with her.
The only character I really liked was Patrick, essayed by David Dawson. He beautifully played the part of a man who is gay in times when he is not ‘allowed’ to be. His expressions when he sees the man he loves simply existing felt so real. He was the only one who properly understood the part and acted accordingly.
Also read: ‘Double XL’ Review: Sonakshi Sinha Creates Unnecessary Chaos But Huma Qureshi’s Performance Makes It Palatable.
The movie was only hyped by Harry Styles fans and that, too, because they love him as a music artist. My Policeman’s plot fell flat because Harry Styles, the protagonist, the policeman, did not act at all! He’s a great musician, no doubt, but he cannot act to save his life! A movie that deals with a topic of this sensitivity needs to be depicted with sincerity as well. Emotion was heavily lacking in the film. It’s like you switched on the television and kept it playing in the background while you got other chores done. You don’t have to pay attention to the plot, because there is no plot.
Can we please expect better films made on LGBTQ romances, please? Frankly, it is an insult to the genre that has finally been accepted in mainstream cinema so can the makers please not ruin its sanctity by making movies like My Policeman? If you still wish to see it, it is available for streaming on Prime Video.
My rating for the film is a half-star out of five. Only because I cannot give it a 0.
