My Policeman Review: An Introspective, Static Drama
My Police is a beautiful and often tense adaptation of Bethan Roberts' 2012 novel of the same name. The film has all the makings of another respectable, if not particularly spectacular, British drama. However, despite the six main actors, only one of them managed to leave an unforgettable impression on my police . As for the film itself, it often softens the emotional complexity of the story instead of expanding on it.
The British perspective, which better captures the harshness of the film, only adds to the regret and despair of a story of gay repression and generations of pain. Instead , "My Cop " consistently fails to properly delve into the story's raw emotion, depriving the film's third act of much of its intended power. While some of the film's flaws can be attributed to Michael Grandage's direct direction, two underwhelming performances in the middle are responsible for many of My Cop 's problems.
My Police Story is told from the point of view of two of the three main characters. The first act of the film takes place from the point of view of Marion, a retired school teacher played by Gina Mackie. In her memoir, young Marion (played by Emma Corrine in The Crown ) meets her late husband Tom (Linus Roche) and falls in love as a teenager with an ex-cop played by Harry Styles. . Flashbacks at the beginning of the film suggest that Tom and Marion's close friendship with museum curator Patrick, played by Rupert Everett Sr. and David Dawson Jr., was completely innocent. .
However, after the eldest of the Mackies, Marion, welcomes the disabled Everett Patrick, he begins to secretly read some of the diaries he has kept since his youth. When he does, My Cop turns into a young Patrick Dawson and reveals Stiles' secret sexual relationship with Tom over the years. From that point on, My Cop 's different perspectives and timelines begin to intertwine, slowly but surely showing Patrick, Tom and Marion's friendship finally unravel.
Thanks to the careful structure of Ron Niswaner's script for My Cop , the film's story becomes increasingly complex and layered throughout its 113 minutes. The film creates incredible tension and intrigue in the way it's set, as Marion recounts her memories of her husband's relationship with Patrick. Unfortunately, Niswaner's script still comes to a conclusion that doesn't seem as twisted or emotionally raw as he'd like.
Stiles, for his part, stars in a tragic portrayal of Tom, a man torn between the instability of his relationship with Marion and the secret relationship between him and Patrick. Stiles is still developing as an actor, but he proves he can't deliver the kind of vulnerability and scale that My Police Story needs. Ditto for Emma Corrin, who sells better than Stiles, but still plays Marion, who doesn't quite match Mackie's laid-back charm as her older counterpart.
For the most part, today's Cop Man shows work perfectly because Mac and Roche's performances, as sad and mature as they are, are like Marion and Tom. But that doesn't mean the spark in my cop is strong. On the contrary, kudos to Dawson for his meaningful portrayal of Patrick. Dawson has a natural ability to grab your attention whenever she's on screen, and the scenes where My Cop focuses on her are the closest to the film in conveying the romantic tragedy of the story.
While Dawson's performance is of undeniable quality, the overall power of The Policeman is less than the sum of its parts. As far as adult dramas go, this is another capable film with the occasional British romance thrown in for good measure. But the final minutes of My Cop are just too innocent, coupled with lackluster acting from Corinne and Stiles, ultimately making the movie stand out from the crowd. In the end, the sincere efforts of Mackie and Dawson are not enough to make My Cop as moving and emotionally powerful a drama as Marion and Patrick.
My Cop is now in select theaters and available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.