The film, based on the novel of the same name by Bethan Roberts, shows Styles as a policeman who marries a teacher (Emma Corrin), but begins a covert and passionate affair with a museum curator (David Dawson).
The film is set in the 1950s, when same-sex relationships were illegal in the UK.
Speaking at a press conference in Toronto for the film, Styles explained what the film means to him.
“For me, the reason why the story is so devastating is because, ultimately to me, the whole story is about wasted time,” he said.
“I think wasted time is the most devastating thing, because it’s the only thing we can’t control. It’s the one thing we can’t have back.”
He added that the characters in the film have “nuance” and “complexity that comes for people in real life around sexuality and finding themselves”.
During the press conference, Styles also spoke of the film’s two separate timelines, as it jumps between the 1950s and 1999, exploring love in two different eras with varying degrees of acceptance.
“The general themes are incredibly timeless. I think that’s why the film works so well,” he said.
“I think the themes of love and freedom and the kind of search for that is incredibly relevant, whatever time you were to set it in.”
Styles has recently been caught in the murky waters of whatever happened on the set of Don’t Worry Darling, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival last week.
Style’s gay role in My Policeman, however, has drawn its own controversy by adding yet more fuel to the fire over his perceived queerbaiting by embracing queer culture and not adhering to gender stereotypes, but at the same time refusing to speak about how he identifies.
The actor made history as the first male to appear on the cover of Vogue in a dress back in December 2021. While he was praised by some, he was also accused of appropriating queer culture while keeping his own sexuality ambiguous.
Actor Billy Porter launching a blistering critique of Styles as a “straight white man” in a dress. He later apologised.
Styles has previously spoken to Rolling Stone, saying that it is “unfathomable” to imagine a time when being gay was illegal.
The trailer for the film was recently released.