SUNDANCE: ‘Plainclothes’ Is An Emotionally Dense Portrait Of A Man

A debut film for writer-director Carmen Emmi, Plainclothes (2025) stars Tom Blyth, Russell Tovey, Maria Dizzia and Gabe Fazio. Plainclothes is a stripped-down film when it comes to dialogue. But what narrative weight it doesn’t carry through speech, it does so through atmospheric cinematography, and a use of physical intimacy that speaks volumes.

The film follows Lucas, an undercover officer respected by his team. When he’s assigned to lure and arrest gay men, he finds his personal and professional lives collide when he begins to stop following orders and instead falls in love with a target.

At Sundance, physical intimacy was a strong narrative anchor for more than a handful of films. Plainclothes uses sex and sexuality to explore identity, life, and power. While the ongoing discussion seems to be whether or not sex scenes are necessary in cinema, the truth is that filmmakers are using them to explore how people lose themselves in pleasure and find themselves there, too.

The cinematography in Plainclothes builds a layer of distance between Lucas and the people he traps in the bathrooms. Throughout the film, an almost voyeuristic eye that we view the movie through matches how distant Lucas is from embracing his sexuality.

At the same time, the use of VHS footage throughout the narrative’s most significant moments begins to capture the self-hatred and fear that defines Lucas’ life. Using different techniques, we see the state’s power and its oppressive surveying eye, reminded of Lucas’ role in it. But at other times, we can’t help but feel for Lucas as the only atmosphere becomes suffocating.

Plainclothes (2025) presents a stark look at understanding yourself through Lucas. 

Lucas may hold all the power as a cop, but as the non-linear story weaves through and around his father’s death, Lucas is forced to decide how to live his life. He knows what he loves and who he loves, and now, he has to decide if it’s time to come out and who he’s ultimately doing it for. Lucas’ anxiety paces the film perfectly, the tension driven solidly by his own paranoia. He never seems to relax until the very last scene of the film.

As Lucas, Tom Blyth delivers a performance that transforms how you’ll view him as an actor. Sad, lonely, and clinging to a one-sided love despite the rising guilt of his profession, Lucas is a powder keg of emotions. From tender moments of physical intimacy to angry self-loathing and even more compounding feelings of guilt, Lucas is never one thing for too long. The film captures this beautifully through the oscillating cinematographic choices and the voyeuristic eye we experience Lucas through.

The hyper-masculine profession compounds the weight of the guilt he carries as he begins to understand that he can’t hide who he is. With the thrilling thought of being caught with Andrew in public, maybe he doesn’t want to.

Plainclothes is an emotionally dense watch as Lucas comes into his truth and suffers from the part he’s played in forcibly revealing others. As Lucas’ life falls apart nonlinearly, we watch as he decides how to reassemble the pieces, or if he even wants to.

Plainclothes premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.