Tom and Patrick are unable to have an openly gay relationship because it would violate the legalities of the time. Consequently, they meet in secret, but as Tom is engaged to be married to a schoolteacher called Marion, the two men don’t have the opportunity to spend a great deal of time together.
The film frequently flashes forward in time to the 1990s and this gives us the opportunity to reconnect with each character. We learn that Tom and Marion remain together after getting married and that the relationship between Tom and Patrick ended.
When Patrick has a stroke, Marion brings him into her home so she can act as his carer. Tom is unhappy about this, presumably because he doesn’t want a reminder of the love affair he had decades ago. He refuses to spend any time with his former lover but when Marion does something that takes both Tom and the audience by surprise, he is given the incentive to reconnect with Patrick. ..
Tom and Patrick’s relationship in the film is complicated. Tom seems to be in love with Patrick, but he also seems to be in love with his own career. The film does not seem to make it clear if Tom and Patrick can resume their relationship or if it is too late for them.
How do Tom and Patrick meet?
Tom and Patrick become friends after witnessing an accident together. They help each other out whenever they can and the two have a strong bond.
Tom is an aspiring artist and he invites Patrick into his home so he can draw his portrait. But when the two men are together, it quickly becomes apparent that they have sexual feelings for one another. At first, Tom is reluctant to go to bed with Patrick and this is because he doesn’t feel free to express his sexuality.
The reluctance eventually gives way to passion and the two men start to become intimate with one another.
Why is Tom afraid to express his sexuality?
Tom was afraid to express his sexuality because he knew that engaging in such activities would put him in danger of being thrown into prison. This is why Tom was so afraid of marrying Marion, even though she seemed to be a kind and loving person.
As a policeman, he felt he had to get married in order to climb the career ladder. ..
He wanted to have a family and as he had some feelings for Marion, he decided that married life was the best way forwards for him, even though it meant keeping his sexuality hidden.
Does Marion find out the truth about Tom’s sexuality?
After Tom and Marion move into their marital home, she begins to suspect something is going on between her husband and Patrick when she sees them in one another’s arms in the nearby barn. ..
Tom takes a trip to Venice with his business partner, Patrick. While there, Tom tells Marion that Venice is strictly for business and that he and Patrick are not in a romantic relationship. Marion is suspicious of Tom, but decides to let things stay as they are.
Tom is very loyal to Marion, so she does something to end their relationship.
How does Marion break up Tom and Patrick’s relationship?
Patrick is arrested for being gay and it turns out that Marion was the person who ‘outed’ him. This isn’t something we find out until later in the film as Marion keeps this secret from Tom for many years.
Marion decides to give Patrick a character reference in court and this is presumably because of the guilt she feels in outing him. Her reference has little effect, however, as he is sentenced to prison for two years.
At the court, extracts of Patrick’s diaries are read out by the prosecution and Tom’s involvement with Patrick is suspected. Tom is spared jail as Marion and Patrick remain quiet about the relationship but we later discover these suspicions caused Tom to lose his job as a policeman. ..
Tom doesn’t visit Patrick in prison and they don’t see each other until decades later. They finally meet again when Marion becomes Patrick’s carer although Tom initially refuses to spend time with his former lover, much to Patrick’s dismay. ..
Why does Marion become Patrick’s carer?
Marion likely feels guilty because she was responsible for her husband breaking up with the person he truly loved. By taking care of Patrick and by connecting him with Tom again, she presumably felt she was doing right by both of them. ..
Tom is angry when Marion brings Patrick back into his life, but this doesn’t mean that he no longer loves him. He is probably afraid of the reminder of the love he once lost and having Patrick so close is probably too painful for him to bear.
We get a sense of his pain when he starts to cry after seeing two gay men being affectionate in a shop as this is another reminder of the love he wasn’t able to have himself when he was younger.
Marion notices that Tom is crying and decides to do something to change his life for the better.
What does Marion decide to do?
After reading Patrick’s diary entries, it is clear that he and Tom had a deep love for one another. After realising this, Marion decides she can no longer remain married to Tom as she knows it won’t make either of them happy. She tells Tom that she feels responsible for his break up with Patrick and confesses to outing Patrick years before. ..
Tom tells Marion that he doesn’t want her to leave, but she insists it’s for the best. Tom is hesitant, but Marion tells him that she must leave for her own happiness.
Marion leaves her loveless marriage to Tom and begins to feel the freedom she always desired. She places her hand outside of the car window to feel the breeze on her skin, indicative of her new found freedom.
Do Tom and Patrick get a second chance at love?
Tom enters Patrick’s room after Marion’s departure, taking his hand in a gesture of reconciliation. The movie ends seconds later, but it can be assumed that the two men now have a chance to resume their relationship that ended decades before. ..
After Marion’s release from prison, the couple is finally free to love one another without fear of imprisonment. ..
I saw “My Policeman” and I thought it was really good. It’s a movie about a policeman who is assigned to protect a small town. The policeman is great at his job and the town is great with him. However, there are some problems that the policeman has to solve.
