Plainclothes

Telling the people you love something you know will disappoint them is never easy. Maybe you wrecked the car—I’ve done that—or maybe you failed an important test. Or maybe it’s something far more personal. I’ve never experienced it myself, but from the stories I’ve heard and the people I’ve known, I understand how difficult it is to tell your parents that you’re gay. Hiding who you are is always hard, but hiding it from the people you love is even harder. Carmen Emmi’s new film Plainclothes captures that struggle in one of the most powerful ways I’ve seen on screen.

Lucas (Tom Blyth) is an undercover police officer whose current assignment is catching men hooking up with other men in a mall bathroom. He’s good at his job and has made more than a few arrests, but Lucas is hiding something from everyone. Deep down, he has desires for men as well—but he’s confused, ashamed, and unwilling to accept it. His ex-girlfriend suspects the truth, but to everyone else, Lucas appears like any other straight man. That changes when he meets Andrew (Russell Tovey). For a moment, Lucas almost acts on his feelings, but shame stops him. Andrew, however, leaves his number just in case Lucas changes his mind.

Soon the attraction becomes impossible to ignore, and after a tense game of cat and mouse, Lucas agrees to meet Andrew. With Andrew, he begins leaning into his feelings for the first time. But while pursuing this connection, there is a challenge, the greater struggle is telling his family who he really is.

Written and directed by Carmen Emmi, Plainclothes is an intimate and raw look at a man grappling with personal identity under the weight of social constraints. Set in the 1990s—a very different world for gay men and the height of the AIDS crisis—the film feels authentic, even splicing in VHS footage to anchor us in the time period. The choice, along with the jittery editing and shifting aspect ratios, takes some getting used to. At times it can even feel distracting, but it also mirrors the anxiety and unease Lucas must have felt while closeted.

Plainclothes is gripping and urgent, a reminder of the harm caused when society moves backward. It’s also a moving coming-out story, one that doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities gay men faced in the ’90s. The performances are where the film shines brightest, with Blyth giving a standout turn as a man torn between his desires and others’ expectations. With just the smallest expressions, he conveys depth and vulnerability, making Lucas easy to empathize with. Blyth is the film’s strongest asset, though there’s plenty else that works. Emmi shows great promise as a filmmaker with a distinct visual style that feels uniquely his own.

This is the kind of movie that will hit differently for different people, but however it strikes you, Plainclothes is absolutely worth seeing.