‘Plainclothes’ Movie Review: Heartbreak Meets Catharsis In Deeply Felt Coming-Out Drama
Photo from Magnolia Pictures
From Jeremy Kibler
Before Grindr, Sniffies, and other hookup apps, cruising for sex was really the only option for gay men. That’s the launching pad for Plainclothes, a stunning feature debut from writer-director Carmen Emmi, but then complicate matters with entrapment and a closeted law enforcement officer who can no longer live by his department’s code of ethics. Set in 1997, Syracuse, New York, the film is not only about shame, guilt, and hypocrisy but longing, desire, and living authentically. At once, Plainclothes is a coming-out story, a tragic queer love story, a cop thriller, a familial slice of life, and a character study all rolled into one deeply felt knockout.
Tom Blyth (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) is a revelation as Lucas, a closeted police officer who goes undercover in cruising spots (i.e. restrooms in shopping malls) to bait gay men and arrest them for indecent exposure. The sting operation with his partner continues, until Lucas lets go of a target, closeted family man Andrew (Russell Tovey). There’s a sexual attraction between them immediately, and Lucas wants to see him again, more than once. As Lucas is torn between his duty, living a lie in front of his family, and his true feelings, something has got to give.
Proving to be a naturally gifted first-time filmmaker, Emmi finds a masterstroke in the edit, bending time and memory with the motif of a lightbulb. Erik Vogt-Nilsen’s editing has an anxious sensory-overload quality, but it is immersive and germane to the story being told rather than a gimmicky distraction. Cinematographer Ethan Palmer’s jittery, textured camerawork is made even more dynamic with the crisscrossing use of different formats (film to Hi8 camcorder footage) and aspect ratios. One particularly transcendent sequence has Lucas’ past rendezvous with Andrew being intercut with Lucas having a private panic attack after suspecting his freeloading Uncle Paulie (Gabe Fazio) and his new girlfriend (Alessandra Ford Balazs) know his secret. This all builds to a breathtakingly tense crescendo that we, too, feel Lucas’ paranoia and entire being ready to burst.
Blyth’s performance is interior but still vulnerable in both subtle and heightened ways, as Lucas is not only wrestling with his identity and morality but still reeling from the loss of his father. Once Lucas feels unwanted and he acts out, he is still wholly sympathetic that the viewer wants what’s best for him. Russell Tovey (HBO’s Looking) does efficiently powerful work, too, as Andrew, a man who can’t fully give Lucas what he wants; it’d be very easy to make Andrew a coward or a villain, but Tovey provides enough humanity to not fall into that simplistic trap. From their second meeting in an old movie palace, Lucas and Andrew’s earliest scenes together are tense in a forbidden way and then intensely sexy thereafter in a greenhouse and Andrew’s minivan. These two actors have such a spark together, making the impact even more devastating that their relationship cannot last.
Character actress Maria Dizzia makes her screen time matter in a lived-in, achingly tender turn as Lucas’ mother, who still tries carrying on family traditions after the death of her husband. Amy Forsyth also makes a touching mark as Lucas’ ex-girlfriend, Emily, who supports him around his father’s passing and knows his secret.
As the film approaches its bittersweet conclusion, the past still collides with the present—a handwritten letter is crucial—but it never feels contrived. A moment of rising volatility and physical violence on New Year’s Eve, a night that’s supposed to be a celebration of reflection and new beginnings, somehow becomes cathartic. Plainclothes is empathetic, heartbreaking, and haunting, and it also feels momentous for a talented new feature filmmaker like Carmen Emmi.
Rating: 5/5
Plainclothes hits select theaters on September 19, 2025.
