November 8, 2022
After they met at the beach in the year 1957, policeman Tom Burgess (Harry Styles) hit if off very well with school teacher Marion Taylor (Emma Corrin). To satisfy Marion's cultural interests, Tom sought the help of his friend, museum director Patrick Hazlewood (David Dawson), who brought them to art exhibits and musical recitals. Even after they were married, Patrick was still very much a part of their lives, which Marion got concerned about.
We first meet the three main characters in their old age in the year 1999. Tom (Linus Roache) and Marion (Gina McKee) had been married for several years. One day, Marion brought their old friend Patrick (Rupert Everett) into their home to nurse him after a stroke left him invalid. Tom did not agree with this, and avoided Patrick the whole time. Marion got to read Patrick's diary and learned more than what she bargained for.
This film is getting a lot of attention because of pop superstar Harry Styles being cast in the lead role as the titular policeman. He did not do badly, as he captured Tom's boyish charms and innocent curiosity down pat. However, his inadequacy in the acting department was rather apparent when he was side by side with his two more critically-acclaimed co-stars, Corrin and Dawson, whose portrayals clearly had more depth than Styles'.
This film tackled the topic of male homosexuality in the 1950s, when it was considered endangerment of public morals and a crime. The gay love scenes between Tom and Patrick, while blocked with artistic care by director Michael Grandage, seemed to go on longer than necessary, as if that was the only aspect in their relationship. Even in the more permissive present, these scenes may not be an easy watch for more conservative viewers.
The elderly versions of Tom and Patrick (played by Roache and Everett) did not coincide too well with how they were portrayed as younger men (by Styles and Dawson). They looked and felt like two totally different people. The 1999 scenes were very sad, no doubt, but the emotional connection of those scenes with those of 1957 felt forced and unstable. Ultimately, it was really the character of Marion that held the whole story together. 6/10.
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