My Policeman follows Tom, Marion, and Patrick as the trio navigates the complexities arising due to the same-sex affair blossoming between Tom and Patrick.
Starring Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, and David Dawson, My Policeman is an adaptation of the novel by Bethan Roberts of the same name. The romance drama is directed by Michael Grandage.
My Policeman Story Summary
In the 1950s, in England, Marion (Emma Corrin), a teacher meets Tom (Harry Styles), a policeman. The opposites attract each other as both of them bond when he teaches her swimming, and she encourages him to read more. They eventually start dating. They meet Patrick (David Dawson), a museum curator, soon after. The three of them get along well and soon become inseparable.
At some point, it even seems that Marion and Patrick are drawn to each other because of their shared love for art, architecture, theatre, and music. But she is clear about her feelings for Tom, and she confesses the same to her friend that it is Tom she is in love with. After some time, Tom proposes to Marion to which Marion answers with an enthusiastic ‘yes’.
Patrick visits Tom and Marion after their marriage and stays the night. The following morning, Marion finds out the truth about the relationship between Patrick and Tom when she sees them getting intimate in the storeroom.
Marion decides to remain silent on the issue believing that she can make her marriage work. Tom lives a double life because of his strong wish to have a family and children of his own. Since this wish could only turn into reality with Marion and not with Patrick, as the laws were against Patrick and Tom ever being together, Tom distances himself from Patrick, wanting to not ruin his marriage with Marion.
Patrick plans a trip to Venice with Tom because he feels that he is slipping away after his marriage. When Marion gets to know about their trip to Venice, she becomes upset. Now aware of their relationship, Marion is threatened by the growing love between Patrick and Tom.
Marion remains influenced by the societal norms around homosexuality. She believes that she can ‘change Tom’ as she is convinced that homosexuality is unnatural.
Patrick’s life takes a turn for the worse when someone reports him to the police accusing him of being a homosexual. When Tom gets to know about Patrick’s arrest, he doesn’t want to get caught too. He confesses to Marion that he is gay and says he is sorry that he lied to her. But he also says he wants to remain married to Marion and have a happy family with her.
Soon, Patrick, Tom and Marion are forced to face a court trial because of the allegation against Patrick. In the courtroom trial, Marion’s attempts to prove her husband is straight fail because the police get hold of Patrick’s personal diary which has accounts of his meeting with Tom whom he addressed as “my policeman”.
It is proven that Tom is also homosexual, and this results in him losing his job as a policeman. Patrick is held in prison for 2 years, and Marion visits him sometimes. With Patrick out of the picture, Tom and Marion continue their marriage as they both continue to lie to themselves about their relationship.
40 years pass by, and Patrick remains sick starving himself as he feels there’s nothing in the world for him to live for. Present day Marion is taking care of Patrick by bringing him home. And Tom is doubtful about the whole arrangement and refuses to see Patrick.
Tom’s refusal breaks Patrick’s heart and makes Marion question her decision to bring Patrick home to care for his deteriorating health. But she continues to take care of him with gentle compassion.
While treating Patrick, Marion comes across his personal diary from the 50s – the very same one that was used by the law to arrest him. She reads through it and gets to know the truth about Patrick and Tom’s relationship.
My Policeman Ending Explained
Patrick met Tom in the case of a witness and was instantly attracted to him and couldn’t get him out of his mind. He invited Tom to his museum and to his surprise Tom visited him. He asked him to be his model. Marion finds out that they shared a romantic connection even before Tom met her.
Tom tried to stay away from Patrick, but he couldn’t deny the love he felt for him, and they soon began a secret romantic relationship. They continued meeting along with Marion. Marion was just used as a shield to protect themselves against the law.
As she reads on, it becomes clear to Marion what prompted Tom and Patrick to hide their relationship. They had to hide their feelings for one another because of the strict laws during the 50s as homosexuality was considered criminal then.
Tom was more conflicted because he was a policeman who was bound by laws and found it difficult to truly embrace his sexuality. The laws were so stringent that even physical punishment was prescribed for homosexuals.
Realizing Patrick and Tom suffered as much as she did in the past because of the law and Tom’s reluctance to accept his love for Patrick openly, she decides to finally confront the issue head-on.
Did Marion Finally Leave Tom?
Present-day Tom remains reluctant to see Patrick and insists on sending him away. Patrick, on the other hand, refuses to eat, starving himself.
Tom breaks down emotionally after he sees a couple of young men in an openly gay relationship while he is out with Marion. When he cries silently in the car, Marion understands the reason behind it. Tom suffers from not being able to choose the life he could have had with Patrick if it wasn’t for the laws against homosexuality.
No longer able to keep her silence on the matter, Marion confronts Tom. She confesses that it was she who reported Patrick to the police in the hope that she could save her marriage with Tom. She thought that Tom would be hers after she got Patrick out of their lives, but realizes that nothing could fill the void in Tom’s heart.
For years Marion held herself accountable for keeping Patrick and Tom apart. And she even tried to save Patrick during the courtroom trial but sadly, she couldn’t. And she no longer wants to continue living with the burden any longer and declares her decision to move on.
Marion tells Tom that she is leaving as she has realised that Patrick and Tom were always in love. She also tells him there is hope for Patrick’s recovery if he finds a reason to try and that reason could be Tom. Saying this, Marion leaves Tom and closes the door behind her, never to look back again.
After 40 years, Marion finally liberates herself from her false marriage as well as her false belief that she could somehow change Tom. Marion drives off breathing a sigh of relief knowing that she finally has done the right thing.
Though devastated that Marion has left him, Tom realizes that he can’t hide behind his false marriage and his lies anymore. He finally gathers the emotional strength to walk up to Patrick’s room and embraces Patrick knowing that there’s nothing to stop them from being in love anymore.
My Policeman is now streaming on Prime Video.
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