Plainclothes (15) |Close-Up Film Reviews
Dir: Carmen Emmi, 2025, UK/US, 95min
Cast: Tom Blyth, Russell Tovey, Maria Dizzia
Review by Matthew Morlai Kamara
We see various flashbacks which unravel his past a few months earlier, when he was undercover in a shopping mall. Lucas’s mission is to lure men into arrests through seduction. But when he meets Andrew (Russell Tovey), what begins as routine entrapment turns into something unexpected. As their secret connection grows, the pressure from the police to deliver results intensifies. Lucas is torn between duty and desire, when everything he has suppressed threatens to explode in one unforgettable New Year’s Eve confrontation.
The performances in Plainclothes carry a rare ferocity. During the gala Q&A, Blyth revealed how his preparation was almost OCD-level in intensity staying locked in a mental state that mirrored Lucas’s own internal conflict. In the course of the film you can see and feel in his body language his nervousness from every gesture of he makes. From his glances to the camera lens to his personal desires of affection and confusion.
There are a particular few moments of the film which particularly grabbed my attention one hundred percent. I was fascinated how masterfully the film’s director, makes silence stretch between Lucas and other characters making it almost unbearable to watch at times. Admittedly I was wondering to myself this is a hard watch, then realised it was purposely done to make the audience more intrigued with the film.
Technically the film is stunning, the flickering effects used for flashbacks and emotions are carefully and perfectly timed. Should also mention the movie’s fabulous score, which mirrors Lucas’s unravelling psyche, as the cinematography shifts from suffocating interiors to stark moments of intimacy. The music syncs perfectly with Lucas’s changing emotions from happiness to intensity.
The film’s message however extends beyond the screen. It’s a story of shame, desire, and liberation that deserves to be seen by audiences from all walks of life and which speaks out not only for the LGBT community but for all communities hopefully giving everyone the willpower and the courage to live openly without fear.
