Written and directed by Carmen Emmi, Plainclothes is a moving gay drama that’s as intimate as it is harrowing. Set in 1990s Syracuse, the film stars Tom Blyth (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) as Lucas, a young undercover cop tasked with luring and arresting gay men, and Russell Tovey (Looking) as Andrew, the man who changes everything when duty collides with desire.
What begins as another sting operation in a mall bathroom becomes something far more electric—and impossible to deny.
“No queer people die at the end”
For Emmi, making Plainclothes was always about hope and representation.
“I wanted to end on a hopeful note. If I could have an alternate poster that says, no queer people die at the end of this movie, I would, and I’ll probably make one,” Emmi said. “That was really important to me when I wrote this, and I think all stories are important—I just knew I wanted to make the story that I needed to see as a teenager.”
Though the story is set in the ’90s, Emmi stressed how recent its inspiration really is. “I was originally inspired by a sting operation that happened in 2014… and in other counties in California it was happening up until 2019,” he explained. “People hear about the plot of this film and they’re like, oh, I thought it would be in the seventies, the nineties. I can’t believe that happened. And I’m like, it’s happening in 2019.”
“As close to lover’s first sight as I’ve seen”
For Blyth, Lucas’s pull toward Andrew was undeniable from the very first look.
“It feels as close to lover’s first sight as I’ve seen in any film or in real life,” Blyth said. “With other people, Lucas has been able to deny attraction, even if he’s felt some attraction or some curiosity, he’s been able to deny it and push it down for his own survival. But when he meets Andrew, he feels seen in a way that he can’t deny. And I think it’s all in that look, that first look they share.”
Tovey added, “You recognize in Andrew kindness and there’s not a desperation about him, and there’s something very adult and confident. And suddenly you’ve got this gay man who could guide you into this next chapter of your life.”
Queer intimacy on screen
Emmi was intentional in how he crafted Lucas and Andrew’s intimacy.
“What I really wanted to do was show the clumsiness and the awkwardness of someone’s first time, because I didn’t get to see that,” Emmi said. “All I saw was the hyper romanticized, glossy version of sex scenes. Even if it was in the wilderness or something, it was still glamorized. And I just really wanted to show how raw and messy it can be, and in that way, kind of funny, but also exhilarating.”
The film doesn’t skip over their many “almost tries,” instead letting their relationship unfold with realism and vulnerability. “That was important to me too, the teasing of it, I suppose,” Emmi explained.
Mentorship onscreen and off
That sense of discovery is tied to the film’s mentorship dynamic—something Blyth and Tovey both felt deeply while making it.
“Mentorship became a big part of the conversation for us,” Blyth shared. “Russell brought it up really early on in the process… Lucas is definitely learning from Andrew and even just down to that house to have safe sex, which he’s not had it before. So he doesn’t know how to do that. And Russell made a really good point of making it so that Andrew really wanted to show him how to use protection at a time when the AIDS crisis was still very much alive.”
Blyth continued, “That was mirrored in our experience on set because I’ve just been a fan of Russell’s for years and very much have admired his career for a long time and the way he works. So I was kind of just really happy to work with someone who’s kind of a hero and then become friends and have so much trust there as well.”
Finding love in family and friendship
For both actors, the most powerful moments weren’t just between Lucas and Andrew, but also with the women who supported him.
Amy Forsyth, who plays Lucas’s ex, tells him: “You just got to have those feelings.” For Tovey, that line “means a lot. Amy Forsythe is phenomenal, but what a beautiful character. How generous is she in that moment? She could be awful to you. She could shame you. She could expose you. She doesn’t, she chooses to give you love and she loves you enough to let you free and support you and go, come to New York.”
Blyth highlighted the film’s closing scene with Lucas’s mother, played by Maria Dizzia: “The complex feeling of hope that we get from my mom… you feel like it’s going to be really complicated, but things are ultimately going to be okay. And that’s because you can tell his mom loves him no matter what.”
Tovey summed it up simply: “Unbelievable. She plays about 40 things at one with one look. She’s very clever, brilliant actress.”
A queer story that chooses hope
By centering intimacy, mentorship, and family, Plainclothes resists queer tragedy in favor of survival and connection.
“I just hope people take a hopeful feeling away from it,” Emmi said. Plainclothes is now playing in select theaters.
