Plainclothes (2025)
Director: Carmen Emmi Run Time: 97 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 2025
Starring: Amy Forsyth, Christian Cooke, Maria Dizzia, Russell Tovey, Tom Blyth
Country: United States, United Kingdom
Language: English
About the film:
Plainclothes is a 2025 American romantic thriller film directed by Carmen Emmi, starring Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey. The story follows a 1990s undercover police officer who is assigned to arrest gay men but falls in love with his target, leading to a conflict between duty and desire. The film, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and won an award for its ensemble cast, is noted for its exploration of repression, queer love, and themes of identity set against a suffocating family backdrop.
About the filmmaker:
Carmen Emmi is a writer-director based in New York City, whose work deeply explores identity, queerness, and themes of hiding in plain sight. His feature debut Plainclothes premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Emmi was recognized early for his screenplay Plainclothes, placing among the top scripts in the 2022 Academy Nicholl Fellowship and Screencraft competitions. He holds roots in Syracuse, New York, and studied filmmaking, combining personal narrative with visual intensity to craft films that resonate emotionally and thematically.
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