Sundance review: 'Plainclothes' is a thoughtful, tragic drama of two men unable to express their gay identity in the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' era

Though it’s set in 1997, the themes about gay identity and secret shame in writer-director Carmen Emmi’s drama “Plainclothes” are still fresh and vital — especially when handled as sharply as this movie does.

Lucas, played by Tom Blyth (“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”), works undercover in an upstate New York police department, with the specialty of nabbing men seeking to solicit sex from young men in public places. 

Emmi shows us the set-up early: Lucas, looking like a hot young prospect, makes eye contact with a likely target in the mall. The target follows Lucas into the men’s room, where he silently indicates that the target go into the toilet stall. When the target starts unbuckling his pants, Lucas leaves — and when the target also leaves, that’s where Lucas’ sergeant (Christian Cooke), who’s been operating the hidden camera behind the paper-towel dispenser, makes the arrest. 

Lucas is tiring of this duty, and his superiors are working to train a rookie officer (Darius Fraser) to take his place. Part of the reason is that Lucas himself is feeling attracted to men — something he’s only told to his now-former girlfriend, Emily (Amy Forsyth). Lucas fears coming out would disappoint her mother (Maria Dizzia), and would incur the wrath of his homophobic uncle, Paul (Gabe Fazio).

When Lucas is working his undercover sting in the mall one day, he makes contact with an older man (Russell Tovey). Lucas notices that this man, who identifies himself as Andrew, seems to know how to avoid the behavior that will bring about an arrest. Lucas also notices that he’s very attracted to him, and they manage to arrange to meet again.

Emmi, a cinematographer making his directing debut, deploys some clever tricks to build up Lucas’ stress as he fears he’ll be found out. Most effectively, Emmi cuts in grainy, VHS-grade footage that emulates the videos of the sting operation and augments Lucas’ paranoia.

The deciding factor in “Plainclothes” are the nicely complementary lead performances by Blyth and Tovey. The performers sensitively portray different ends of the gay experience, circa 1997— the young man just discovering his sexual preferences, and the older and wiser man who knows the routine he has to follow to separate his sexuality from his public identity.

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‘Plainclothes’

★★★1/2

Screening in the U.S. Dramatic competition of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Screens again: Tuesday, January 28, 4 p.m., Redstone 1, Park City; Friday, January 31, 2:30 p.m., Rose Wagner, Salt Lake City; Saturday, February 1, 12:45 p.m., Holiday 1, Park City. Sunday, February 2, 9 p.m., The Ray, Park City. Online screenings Thursday, January 30, 8 a.m. to Sunday, February 2, 11:55 p.m. (All times Mountain time zone.) Not rated, but probably R for strong sexuality, language and some violence. Running time: 95 minutes.