Plainclothes
classified 15This thrilling debut from director Carmen Emmi is a brooding psychological drama starring Russell Tovey and Tom Blyth, who meet under complicated circumstances. It took home the Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
In 1990s Syracuse, New York, Andrew (Tovey) is illicitly cruising the bathrooms of a strip mall when he meets Lucas (Blyth), who is an undercover cop on an assignment to catch and arrest men just like him. But something happens when they meet, and an instant connection is formed between them, causing Lucas to abort his professional mission. The encounter throws Lucas off-kilter, and he’s forced to confront long-buried desires he’s tried so hard to suppress. In an attempt to reckon with them, what follows is a thrilling game of cat and mouse that threatens to upend both men’s lives for good.
Harnessing lo-fi VHS footage to play with voyeuristic, tense notions of surveillance, Plainclothes is a story of forbidden love that speaks to pertinent themes of state surveillance and societal intolerance.
Please note: Plainclothes contains a sequence of flashing lights, which might affect viewers with photosensitive epilepsy.
- Plainclothes on Tue 14 Oct and Tue 21 Oct are part of our Cinébites deal: get 30% off any main dish in the Café & Bar with a valid ticket for Club Shed members.