Cruising tragedy Plainclothes is brought to its knees by relentless stylistic futzing

Lucas’ painful memories become grainy home movies; his predatory police officer POV acquires a zooming, security cam-like perspective. Aspect ratios expand and contract incessantly, reminding the audience of the decade, the juggling of identities, and the unmoored timeline. In moderation, or with a stricter level of control, this ambitious multi-pronged visual attack could enhance (or at least reflect) the closeted duo’s compartmentalized lives. Instead, deployed with such bombast, these choices jettison the audience from Lucas’ anxious headspace rather than imprison them inside it. We’re not trapped with his shame, but stuffed into a bag of tricks. Tension doesn’t have time to steep, the heart-pounding promise of a forbidden fuck can’t develop into dizzying lust, the contradictions of a sting operative disappear into the kinetic static.

The stunting effect this visual approach has on the film’s emotions only further robs the shallow narrative of impact. As Plainclothes paces back in forth in time and location—the latter seesawing between the pair’s discreet, steamy hookups and Lucas’ jam-packed, Christmas Eve In Miller’s Point-style family gatherings (Maria Dizzia also stars in this one as a harried mom)—it muddles its lead’s painful arc in a mess of stereotypes. Blyth plays this eroding ache, the damage done by concealing his sexuality, as broadly as the rest of the film, especially in the dialogue-heavy climax, but Tovey (playing a more seasoned married man, who serves as both the object of desire and a warning of a closeted future) is quietly stunning as his guarded foil. When the film calms down and simply observes the delicate dance between the two curious men as they silently negotiate the boundaries of their relationship, it accesses some of the elegance hiding beneath its flashy veneer. 

In fact, the most evocative moments of their evolving relationship mirror the kind of rule-abiding ritual of cruising—and of faux-cruising, that Lucas and his fellow officers go through to get their convictions. There are do’s and don’ts, limits and signals. Understanding the delicate etiquette of this process, either earnest or exploitative, is key to the drama, the danger, the passion. But Emmi and his overactive editor detonate any hopes of restrained subtlety around the subject, opting for the visual and narrative obviousness of an unsolicited dick pic.

Director: Carmen Emmi
Writer: Carmen Emmi
Starring: Russell Tovey, Tom Blyth, Maria Dizzia, Christian Cooke, Gabe Fazio, Amy Forsyth, John Bedford Lloyd
Release Date: September 19, 2025