"My Policeman"'s Messy Love Triangle Takes Center Stage in a New Teaser

Updated on 10/4/2022 at 5:05 PM

Forbidden love is in the air in the new teaser for Prime Video's "My Policeman." In the short clip, released Oct. 4 to mark one month before the new movie hits the streamer, Harry Styles's Tom and David Dawson's Patrick secretly hold hands in a crowded movie theater. "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" by Ella Fitzgerald provides the soundtrack for the intimate moment. But when the camera pans back up, Tom has been replaced by Emma Corrin's Marion. It's a tantalizing teaser for the movie's complicated love triangle.

In "My Policeman," Styles's Tom is a closeted gay policeman living in 1957 Brighton. He marries Marion, a school teacher, but falls for Patrick, a museum curator. The three end up in a tangled relationship centered around this secret. At the time the movie takes place, homosexuality is still illegal in England (it remained that way until 1967). Prime released the full trailer for the movie on Sept. 7.

"My Policeman" is directed by Michael Grandage and based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Bethan Roberts. Producer Robbie Rogers spoke to Vanity Fair in June about why he decided to cast Styles. "This story is about two people that are in love with Tom, slightly obsessed with him," he explained. "Harry — the world is so transfixed on him, on his every move."

Granger added that Styles's limited acting experience was ultimately an asset. "Because he hasn't done much, he hasn't developed the ability to work out tricks or even lie. He can only do it truthfully and as he knows it," he said.

"The whole point of Tom is that he is a character who is confused," Granger said of the role later in the interview. "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."

From its theatrical and streaming release dates to its stacked cast list, here's everything we know about one of the most hotly-anticipated movies of 2022, "My Policeman."

"My Policeman" Clip

"My Policeman" Trailer

Amazon Prime Video released the full trailer for "My Policeman" on Sept. 7.

"My Policeman" Teaser Trailer

Amazon Prime released the film's teaser trailer on June 15.

"My Policeman" Release Date

"My Policeman"'s theatrical release is set for Oct. 21, and it will be available to stream on Amazon Prime two weeks later, starting Nov. 4.

What Is "My Policeman" About?

Though certain elements of the movie adaptation may differ slightly from the source material, the movie will largely follow the plot of Roberts's book.

The "My Policeman" book tells the heart-wrenching story of a closeted policeman named Tom (Styles) and his whirlwind love triangle with Marion (Corrin) and Patrick (Dawson). Set in 1950s Brighton, England, Tom and Marion's seemingly perfect love story turns on its head when Patrick, a museum curator, enters Tom's life. The two men strike up an affair, but they conceal their love from the world, as homosexuality is still illegal at this point. To avoid any speculation, Tom and Marion tie the knot, while Marion and Patrick agree on an arrangement to share Tom. However, things become increasingly complicated as the throuple reach a breaking point.

The story bounces back and forth between the '50s and the '90s, at which point Patrick reenters the married couple's lives, leading them to recall their tumultuous love affair.

"My Policeman" Cast

For the scenes set in the '50s, Styles, Corrin, and Dawson play the central roles of Tom, Marion, and Patrick, respectively. Their older counterparts are brought to life by Linus Roache, Gina McKee, and Rupert Everett, respectively. On June 2, 2021, Deadline reported that "Chewing Gum" star Kadiff Kirwan had joined the cast of "My Policeman."

Is "My Policeman" Based on a True Story?

While "My Policeman" isn't a true story, it's inspired by true events, which Roberts opened up about in an interview with The Guardian in February 2012. Roberts revealed she drew inspiration from the life of novelist E.M. Forster, who wrote novels such as "Howards End" and "A Room With a View." His passionate and unconventional 40-year relationship with a policeman named Bob Buckingham and his wife, May, set the basis for "My Policeman."

"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," she wrote. "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."