The first look of Harry Styles’ new movie My Policeman is finally out, which sees him playing a closeted officer named Tom Burgess.
Vanity Fair reports the story is set in Brighton, England, in 1957, which is a time when homosexuality was not only frowned upon in the country, it was illegal. Homosexuality was decriminalized in England in 1967.
In My Policeman, Harry’s character engages in a secret affair with Patrick Hazelwood, played by David Dawson. Because their love is forbidden, Tom seeks out a heterosexual relationship with a schoolteacher named Marion, played by The Crown‘s Emma Corrin.
Eventually, societal pressure becomes too much for Tom and he represses who he is in order to marry Marion, which guts Patrick. The story then jumps 40 years into the future, where Tom and Marion’s marriage is on the brink and Patrick’s life is in shambles because he was outed by a jealous Marion.
Director Michael Grandage said of Harry’s performance in the movie, “He had read the script so many times that he knew every single beat of it at that meeting. I found that incredibly impressive. He knew other people’s lines; he knew all of his lines. He knew why he wanted to talk about it, why one scene worked this way and another worked.”
“This story is about two people that are in love with Tom, slightly obsessed with him,” added producer Robbie Rogers. “Harry — the world is so transfixed on him, on his every move.”
My Policeman, based on the novel of the same name by Bethan Roberts, debuts in theaters October 21. It will stream globally on Amazon Prime Video starting November 4.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.