Where to watch My Policeman - release date, plot, and cast of the Harry Styles film

Harry Styles is back in another film outing, this time tackling a decades-long love triangle - with themes of same sex love and forbidden romance 

Harry Styles has well and truly broken free from his original boy band image, and is carving a name for himself as a talented actor with a huge range. Fresh from his outing in psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling, Styles is starring alongside Emma Corrin in a tale of forbidden love and outdated social constructs. My Policeman had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2022, followed by a further outing at the Adelaide Film Festival on October 19. Here’s everything we know about where to watch My Policeman, and the plot and cast of the Michael Grandage directed film.

Not the only exciting film release to come from the recent film festivals, the Blonde film release date had everyone talking, and hasn’t disappointed audiences. Adam Driver heads up dark comedy White Noise - the Noah Baumbach directed film opened the Venice Film Festival this year to critical acclaim. Hugh Jackman is a dad struggling with his teenage son’s mental health state, in The Son, which left film festival attendees emotional. 

Where to watch My Policeman

My Policeman will initially enjoy a cinematic release in the UK, before being available to watch on Amazon Prime. 

Watching the film on Amazon Prime Video will require a subscription. Amazon Prime membership costs £7.99 per month, or £79 per year for an annual membership. This includes all benefits that come with the membership. There is a 30 day free trial available prior to any commitment. 

For those only wanting to use Amazon's video service, a separate Amazon Prime Video subscription is available for £5.99 per month. This does not include any other Amazon Prime membership services.

My Policeman: Release date 

My Policeman will have a UK cinematic release on October 21, 2022 and will be released globally on Amazon Prime Video on November 4, 2022.  

The team behind the film were interested in casting Styles, but were unsure if they'd be able to pin him down for a role.  However, Hollywood Reporter reported  the script was circulating among various actors and Styles heard about it. He wanted a role so badly, he had his team reach out to the directors. 

He later met with Michael Grandage in London to discuss what he could bring to his role. Grandage said “He was very clear, saying, ‘I’ve done one film, and I’m just making another now, and I know that I would love something like this to be my next film project.’ ” The director was also impressed by everything Styles knew about the story, and how he already knew the script inside out.

My Policeman: Plot

Tom played by Harry Styles meets future wife Marion (Emma Corrin) on a Brighton beach, where they end up going for a swim. Marion instantly falls in love, and the pair end up getting married. Tom however, only married for societal expectations, and has questioned his sexuality. Their lives become very complicated when Tom meets museum curator Patrick Hazelwood and the two engage in an affair lasting decades. 

Events take place in 1950's Britain, where homosexuality was still illegal. Tom remains married to Marion for safety, but she begins to realise his feelings for Patrick - her realisation sparks a devastating chain of events. Their lives become entangled in the most difficult way when Patrick becomes seriously ill in the present day. Times have changed and his relationship with Tom would no longer be taboo. However, all three are affected by the trauma of the hidden events, and starkly reminded of what could have been.  

In a statement, Michael Grandage said "The whole point of Tom is that he is a character who is confused. It’s made more problematic by the fact that he’s a policeman, and he’s in a career that is about upholding the law. And the law in the country at the time is about everything he feels - the complexity of it is something that whoever was going to play younger Tom and older Tom needed to somehow understand and absorb".

Is My Policeman based on a true story?

My Policeman is based both on a book and a true story. The film is based on the book of the same name by Bethan Roberts. Her book was inspired by the real life of E.M. Forster, who had a long-term relationship with a policeman while married. 

According to Penguin, writer EM Forster and married policeman Robert Buckingham entered into a relationship while Forster was married. There was an age gap between the pair, with Buckingham being 28, and Forster 51. As in the film, when Forster became unwell in later life, Buckingham's wife May allowed him to live with them, and cared for him. 

Author Roberts said “a functioning triangular arrangement was firmly established with the two of them sharing their beloved Buckingham; the long weekends were for May, the short ones for Forster. Such an arrangement may only have worked in conditions of complete silence about the true nature of Forster's relationship with Buckingham; but it did, at least, work.”

May was with Forster the day he died, holding his hand. She said “I now know that he was in love with Robert and therefore critical and jealous of me and our early years were very stormy, mostly because he had not the faintest idea of the pattern of our lives and was determined that Robert should not be engulfed in domesticity. Over the years he changed us both and he and I came to love one another, able to share the joys and sorrows that came.”

My Policeman: Cast

• Harry Styles (Dunkirk, Don't Worry Darling) as Tom Burgess
• Emma Corrin (Pennyworth, The Crown) as Marion Burgess
• David Dawson (The Last Kingdom, Ripper Street) as Patrick Hazelwood
• Linus Roache (Vikings, Summer of Rockets) as old Tom Burgess
• Gina McKee (Notting Hill, The Phantom Thread) as Old Marion Burgess
• Rupert Everett (Stardust, St Trinians) as old Patrick Hazelwood

Actor David Dawson said of his role and co-stars to Vogue "you knew going into it that there had to be chemistry for this story to work, and so we constantly promised each other we’d keep talking throughout the process."

Of Styles, he said "He was a true professional and a gentleman," adding "you might love or loathe a character at various points throughout this story, but hopefully you understand that because of how they have to live, they’re forced to be this way".

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