By: Jessica Albright | Staff Writer
Cue the tears! On October 21st, a cinematic adaptation of the novel, My Policeman by Bethan Roberts was released. Having read My Policeman, I was excited to see the story come to life on the big screen. Of course, seeing Harry Styles was an added bonus. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie and had a lot of good notes regarding the movie’s attempt at the popular story.
My Policeman is a dual perspective novel written from the views of a man and a woman who are both in love with Tom Burgess, a member of the British Police Force. Roberts beautifully captures the intense love that both Marion and Patrick have for Tom in ways that revolve around tragedy and pain. Roberts also depicts the struggles of being gay in the 1950s through the heartbreaking events of Patrick’s life and the internalized homophobia that hardens Tom’s aging character. In the end, we see broken characters grasp at the idea of a happy ending and come to terms with their ideas of love being long gone. Although it is a heart-wrenching story, it is beautifully done, and I highly recommend you read the book before watching the movie.
First, let’s talk about the good parts of the movie. I thought the cinematography was absolutely stunning. The book was beautifully brought to life, and the scenes captured so much emotion. The movie also did a wonderful job of transitioning from the present day to the past, just as the book does. I would say my favorite part of the movie was Patrick and Marion. The actor who played a younger Patrick, David Dawson, was perfectly cast for the role and captured the essence of his character flawlessly. Emma Corrin, who starred as a younger Marion, also played the role beautifully and had the audience sympathizing with a poor young woman who really was blindsided in every aspect of her life. I would say the movie succeeded in capturing the most important parts of the story in the two hours that it ran and was truly captivating at every second.
Now to the hardest part, what the movie missed the mark on. First of all, the characters did not all match the descriptions from the books. Patrick and Marion were pretty spot on, aside from Marion lacking the red hair. Tom, however, was described as an innocent young blonde. Although I didn’t mind watching Harry Styles on the big screen, he really didn’t match the descriptions from the novel. He was also supposed to be roughly 13 years younger than Patrick, but he somehow ended up looking older. Styles’ acting also didn’t really hold that much emotion, and I wasn’t really amazed at any specific time of his performance. Although, he did capture the manipulative quality quite well. However, I can’t complain because Harry’s character, Tom, really is a secondary character, even though both Patrick and Marion’s worlds revolve around him. Overall, there was not much that the movie failed to succeed in, as I believe the cast and crew nailed the overarching story.
This story of love and the absolute pain that it brings, as well as the burden of forgiveness, stunningly captures the passion of three characters who by chance were tangled together. Director, Michael Grandage, has brought to life a wonderful adaptation of Bethan Roberts’ five-star novel, and to that, all I have to say is a massive thank you. Of course, the book is always better than the movie, but the movie adaptation of My Policeman was a smashing hit and one I recommend you watch.
Photo Credit: Google Images, Creative Common License
