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English singer-songwriter Harry Styles started dabbling in acting a while ago and it seems like the audience likes seeing him onscreen because he’s got a couple projects lined up, including film My Policeman which is all set for a feature at the Toronto Film Festival.

The romantic drama is described as a “beautifully crafted story of forbidden love and changing social conventions” in the YouTube caption for its teaser, released last month. It follows the story of a policeman, Tom (played by Styles), a teacher (who he ends up marrying) Marion (played by Emma Corrin) and a museum curator called Patrick (played by David Dawson). The story is initially set in the 50s in Britain, but flashes forward to the 90s when the characters are older and “still reeling with longing and regret but now they have one last chance to repair the damage of the past”.

The teaser is only a glimpse of the story but it thumbs through the pages quickly — a snap of the couple getting married in one flash, another flash shows the bond between the men. The voiceover is a conversation between them as they gaze at a painting and seems to hint at the plot. Dawson asks, “So how does it make you feel?” Styles responds, “I can sense the waves, how strong they are — like swimming in rough surf. You feel they can crush you or take you under. You just have to let it take hold of you.”

Based on the book by Bethan Roberts, director Michael Grandage carves a “visually transporting, heart-stopping portrait of three people caught up in the shifting tides of history, liberty, and forgiveness”.

My Policeman is directed by Grandage and written by Ron Nyswaner. The film will hit the theatres in the US and UK on October 21 and will release on Amazon Prime Video globally November 4.

This September will be the Toronto Film Festival’s 47th edition held in person after two years due to Covid-19. This festival will be held in style — Hollywood stars are expected to walk the red carpet and the films will have a proper viewing in theatres.