We’ve only seen Harry Styles in front of the camera twice so far: first, as part of the ensemble in Christopher Nolan’s war epic Dunkirk, and last year, in the post-credits scene of Eternals. And yet the momentum for Styles to transcend from international pop star into the superlative status of Hollywood leading man has never been stronger.
Two projects debuting in 2022 will make or break the Tinseltown bona fides of the 28-year-old: Don’t Worry Darling, Olivia Wilde’s psychological thriller in which he co-stars with Florence Pugh, and My Policeman, a clandestine queer romance between Styles’ titular cop, Tom, and a museum curator. Just to sweeten an already tantalizing cast sheet, Emma Corrin also stars as Tom’s beleaguered wife, Marion, left behind while he pursues his secretive gay fling.
Little was known about the latter film until now. On Monday, an advanced test screening for My Policeman took place in San Diego, which studios usually do when a movie is in the final stages of post-production to gauge audience reaction and make any necessary tweaks. We still don’t have a release date, and the official status of the film hasn’t changed, but if the first reviews are to be trusted — and do take them with a grain of salt — we could be in for a good one.
Allegedly hose at the screening were “raving about how good it is” — emphasizing My Policeman‘s “gorgeous visuals” and “amazing” acting across the board. A contextless Gif quotes Styles saying “I’m quite versatile,” and… well, you don’t exactly have to read between the lines. Most importantly, there are “arse cheeks.”
As for Styles’ performance, apparently it’s “very nuance. He shows real talent and depth as an actor.” Another source describes him as “amazing,” his performance the product of “what a competent director and amazing co-stars can do.” (The “competent director” in question is the CBE-appointed theatermaker Michael Grandage. Hopefully he doesn’t take “competent” as an inadvertent slight.)
Test audience screenings tend to reflect the target demographic of the finished product to see how it’ll land and, maybe more to the point, whether it’ll make the big bucks. For My Policeman, filmgoers were polled in advance on a number of high-profile queer films — think: Brokeback Mountain, Call Me By Your Name, Milk — the logical conclusion being that Amazon is angling for a similar prestige movie vibe. Some anticipate My Policeman will be lined up, similarly, for a big awards campaign, but buzz won’t properly build until a film festival premiere is set.
This story originally ran on British GQ with the title “Harry Styles’ gay cop movie My Policeman isn’t something you’d watch with your parents”