The first trailer has finally been released for Russell Tovey and Tom Blyth’s highly-anticipated gay drama, Plainclothes.
Set in 1990s New York City, the film follows Lucas (Blyth), a working-class undercover officer who is tasked with entrapping and apprehending gay men, only to find himself attracted to his target Andrew (Tovey).
Also starring Amy Forsyth, Christian Cooke, Maria Dizzia, John Bedford Lloyd, Gabe Fazio and Sam Asa Brownstein, Plainclothes marks the feature-length directorial debut of Carmen Emmi, who also penned the screenplay.
In the first trailer – premiered by Out – Lucas enters a men’s toilet to seduce and capture closeted gay men, but fails to do the same with Andrew.
The footage then follows Lucas as he’s torn between his duty as a plainclothes officer and his undeniable chemistry with Andrew — complete with a teaser of a raunchy sex scene and glimpses of Lucas’s growing paranoia about being outed.
Plainclothes premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it was met with positive reviews from critics.
Although Deadline opined that Plainclothes “takes a little while to find its feet”, they praised the “smoldering chemistry” between Tovey and Blyth, as well as the latter’s depiction of a “young man wrestling with his identity”.
“Plainclothes, though, is not strictly a coming-out movie, it’s a relatable story about infatuation and heartbreak, most of it communicated with painfully raw emotion by these star-crossed lovers’ eyes,” they wrote.
ScreenRant lauded Blyth’s “incredible” performance, saying he portrays Lucas as a “ball of anxious energy who’s always paranoid and thinking about what would happen if his mom, or anyone else for that matter, found out he was gay”.
Tovey’s performance was acclaimed by ThePlaylist, who wrote the following: “Tovey is perhaps the most unfiltered and raw we ever remember seeing him on screen. It’s a quick moment, but it’s a “wow” one.”
As for Variety, the publication labelled Emmi’s “ultra-subjective multimedia approach” as “impressive”, but took issue with the “mix of formats and timelines” and noted “a few major plot holes”. Despite this, they commended the “intense and ultimately cathartic climax”.
Plainclothes is set to be released in the U.S. on 19 September – watch the first trailer here or below.
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