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Like “Cruising” for the 1990s New Queer Cinema set, Carmen Emmi’s feature debut “Plainclothes” features the most emotionally (and physically) naked performance yet from rising British star Tom Blyth. He plays Lucas, a rookie cop somewhere outside Syracuse assigned to post up in one of those bland, sad Malls of America, hoping to lure men into a toilet stall — and into exposing themselves or more.
This clandestine, bait-and-catch operation was the sort of problematic police procedure that got people like George Michael into trouble for lewd conduct. Here, it forms the basis of a thriller — and one with shades of romance when Lucas’ own secret attraction to men starts overtaking him. And especially in the form of Russell Tovey, sparking a hesitant hook-up and possible romance after Lucas catches Andrew (Tovey) in the bathroom, only to end up lingering too long.
IndieWire shares an exclusive clip for the film in the video above. “Plainclothes” premieres in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival starting Sunday, January 26. The film co-stars Maria Dizzia, Christian Cooke, Gabe Fazio, and Amy Forsyth and is currently looking for U.S. distribution. Blyth, probably best known for his role in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” previously starred in another queer film, Terence Davies’ “Benediction,” in a scene-stealing performance as English actor Glen Byam Shaw. In “Plainclothes,” he gets his biggest dramatic showcase yet.
More on the film from the Sundance official program listing: “‘Plainclothes’ is brimming with an atmosphere of paranoia and anxiety. As Lucas, a young police officer contending with a secret attraction to men, Tom Blyth palpably embodies this tension in a breakout performance. Straining to fill a prescribed role in the implicitly straight culture of the police force, he carries the crushing weight of both the consequences of his increasingly fraught undercover work as well as the threat of exposure of his exhilarating, clandestine encounters with Andrew (Russell Tovey). Writer-director Carmen Emmi, making his feature directorial debut, cleverly deploys lo-fi VHS footage at key moments to ramp up the sense of unease, alternately signifying the police surveillance that haunts his conscience as well as flashes of memory. A shrewd play with chronology similarly keeps the audience on its toes, wondering if Lucas will be able to handle the stress of his secret or if he’ll finally reach a breaking point.”
“Plainclothes” premieres Sunday, January 26 at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
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