Emma Corrin will star alongside Harry Styles in a new film, 'My Policeman'

WORDS Ella Jane PHOTOGRAPHY Courtesy Instagram PUBLISHED Tue, 20 Apr 2021 - 1:30 pm

It was seemingly only a matter of time before The Crown star, Emma Corrin was immersed fully into the zeitgeist, and with the announcement that she will join Harry Styles in a new queer cop film titled My Policeman earlier this year, it feels as though the sentiment has been solidified. Better yet, the film has finally commenced shooting, so it's time for an update on one of Britains most anticipated films for the year ahead. Everything to know, below.

What is the plot of My Policeman?

Emma Corrin will play a role she is rather familiar with after her breakout role as Princess Diana: a third-wheeling wife. Based on Bethany Roberts' novel of the same name, the story is set in the late 1990s, when elderly Patrick arrives at Marion (Corrin) and Tom’s (Styles) home. Patrick's presence triggers the exploration of monumental events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when homosexuality was illegal. The books focus is mostly on Patrick’s perspective, but with Corrin and Styles taking the lead, we're predicting/hoping Marion and Tom might take the stage for the on-screen iteration.

Who has been cast?

Lily James was originally slated to play the role of Marion when Styles’ casting was first announced in September last year, but the actress dropped out of the project citing to unforeseen circumstances, leaving Corrin room to swoop in, uniting the emerging but extremely popular actors. Alongside Styles and Corrin, My Policeman stars David Dawson (of The Last Kingdom) as Patrick. Gina McKee (of Notting Hill and Black Narcissus) will take the role of Corrin's character's elderly self alongside Homeland star Linus Roache will play the older version of Harry. Rupert Everett has also reportedly signed on to star as the older Patrick.

Who is behind the lens?

My Policeman is set to be directed by Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage, featuring a script from Oscar and Emmy nominee Ron Nyswaner. It will be produced by Greg Berlanti, Robbie Rogers and Sarah Schecter of Berlanti-Schechter Films.

When is it filming and when?

As mentioned, My Policeman just kicked off filming this month and is due to wrap in early summer, when Emma starts her West End run in the Anna Delvey-inspired play Anna X. If our sleuthing is correct, it would appear as though shooting has commenced in London and will move to Brighton in later stages of filming.

When will it be released?

There is no exact release date this far, but considering the scale of the small film, we're hoping for a release early next year. My Policeman will premiere on Amazon Prime.

We are, of course, huge fans of Styles, and excited to watch his face for hours on end, especially in a homoerotic text. However, it would feel remiss if we didn't touch on the dialogue of letting non-queer actors play queer roles. As previously mentioned, Styles' sexuality has been left rather ambiguous in the eyes of the media, which is absolutely his right. As such, the conversation remains to question who should be first in line to be considered for these roles, but the nuance lies in our obsession to immediately and swiftly label people in order to establish where they fit. In Styles' case, he doesn't appear to be in any rush to be saddled with a label, so for now, we'll have to hope that his intention of ambiguity lies in exploration, and not in co-opting queer identities.

In Corrin's case, the actor recently shared an image from a POP Mag editorial with the caption "ur fave queer bride" which was one of the best things we'd heard all week (especially for the resident gay (me) in the RUSSH village who is deluding herself with the news increasing her chances).