Film Review: 'Plainclothes' Gets Under the Skin

This might be a career best for Russell Tovey; Tom Blyth does unforgettable work; and writer-director Carmen Emmi hits it out of the park with his debut feature.

Writer-director Carmen Emmi’s cop-in-the-closet drama stars Tom Blyth as Lucas, a vice squad officer staking out a mall food court (and restroom) in the 1990s, when American law enforcement subscribed to ideas of gay men as child predators and dedicated what now seems a wasteful amount of money and manpower looking to bust men for cottaging.

While on the job, the deeply conflicted Lucas almost has a potential arrestee, Andrew (Russell Tovey), in a position where he can be busted for indecent exposure: In a bathroom stall, with wordless signals indicating his interest. But Andrew doesn’t follow the expected script — and neither does Lucas. Cops aren’t allowed to enter stalls along with their marks, let alone start making out with them, but the force of their attraction is so strong that that’s what happens. Doubt and shame overwhelm the moment, and Lucas retreats; but Andrew, sensing his confusion, slips him a piece of paper with an invitation to phone. Eventually, Lucas does.

(Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey in Plainclothes. Source: Magnolia Pictures)

Set during a family gathering on New Year’s eve, Plainclothes hopscotches between a long evening of increasing tensions and a months-long process in which Lucas gradually comes out to himself and seeks out his first same-sex experiences. The New Year’s Even scenes are suspenseful, driven by the grief Lucas and his mother, Marie (Maria Dizzia), share over the death of his father, Gus (Joseph Emmi Sr.), and the hostile, hypermasculine vibe created by his uncle Paul (Gabe Fazio), an abrasive loser living with Marie in the aftermath of his divorce. When we first meet Paul, he’s scuffling with his son and hurling homophobic invective; it’s while trying to intervene that Lucas loses an unopened letter, and he spends the rest of the evening searching for it in vain.

Flashbacks take up the bulk of the film’s runtime, tracing Lucas’ growing unease around luring men into compromising situations in the mall restroom. This detail begins before the death of his father; at the funeral, his sergeant, Ron (Christian Cooke), stops by to offer condolences and takes note of how Emily (Amy Forsyth), Lucas’ ex, has taken up a post at his side, holding his hand. At the police station, Ron and Lucas drill a new recruit, Goldrick (Darius Fraser), on the finer points of enticing and entrapping gay men who are cruising for sex. These scenes are itchy, jumpy, and uncomfortable, thanks to the editing and sound design, and as Lucas struggles with the truth of who he is and what he wants he flashes repeatedly on Marie, Emmy, Ron, and even his Uncle Paulie — people he loves and looks up to, people he doesn’t want to let down.

(Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey in Plainclothes. Source: Magnolia Pictures)

Scenes of Lucas’ awakening in the company of the calm, reassuring Andrew, though, play like a dream. The initial sparks between them are undeniably hot, but the two men take their time; Andrew is in no hurry, though he is clear from the start that this will be a brief affair, limited to one or maybe two encounters. He’s a married man resigned to a double life, and part of Lucas’ struggle comes from his doubts about his ability to settle for so little in the way of honest and authentic human contact.

Along with the jumps between time periods, the film dives into Lucas’ memories, fantasies, and anxieties. VHS-style video marks out moments in which he’s replaying moments in his mind, sometimes in the grip of paranoia and sometimes basking in a sense of imminent possibilities. Harsh static fills the soundtrack in the former cases, but in the latter Emily Wells’ emotive score creates an atmosphere of revelation and longing.

The film reaches crescendos of terror and dread, offering moments of tender respite along the way. “Us being together won’t make your anxiety go away,” Andrew tells Lucas at one especially fraught moment. “Trust me. It always comes back.” But is that the best a young gay man in pre-marriage equality America can hope for? It’s not enough for Lucas, and the film builds toward a life-changing moment of reckoning when he has to stand up to his family, and his own ingrained homophobia, to claim who he really is.

Emmi allows us to put the pieces together for ourselves and brings out the best in a talented cast, crafting a powerful cinematic statement on the importance of living an authentic life.

Plainclothes opens in theaters Sept. 16.