Carmen Emmi’s ‘Plainclothes’ To Hit Theaters This September

Mark your calendars, because Plainclothes is finally coming to select theaters on September 19, and we already know it’s going to wreck us in the best way. The film marks writer-director Carmen Emmi’s feature debut, and let’s just say: it’s already making waves.

Set in the 1990s upstate New York and inspired by true events, Plainclothes follows Lucas (played by Tom Blyth), a closeted, working-class undercover cop assigned to a devastating mission: targeting gay men in public spaces and arresting them under the guise of indecency laws. But everything shifts when he meets Andrew (played by Russell Tovey), one of his would-be targets.

What begins as a sting operation slowly turns into something much deeper. As their encounters move from mall bathrooms to quiet greenhouses and shadowy movie palaces, Lucas begins to question the very foundation of his identity and mission. Their chemistry is undeniable, and what starts as surveillance becomes connection, and then love. The cost? Everything.

This is a film that understands the weight of its story. It’s about desire and repression, intimacy and fear, and the complicated truth of queer love in a time and place where it was criminalized. And judging by the buzz, it’s going to hurt in all the right ways.

Plainclothes made its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it was awarded the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast. A huge testament to the film’s emotional power and the strength of its performances.

To give us a little taste (and by taste we mean heartbreak), a scene from the film has been released showing Blyth and Tovey’s characters circling each other in a charged bathroom encounter. It’s hot. It’s tense. It’s queer cinema doing what queer cinema does best.

The cast also features Christian Cooke, Amy Forsyth, Maria Dizzia, John Bedford Lloyd, Gabe Fazio, and Sam Asa Brownstein. Distributed by Magnolia Pictures, Carmen Emmi’s Plainclothes is poised to be one of this year’s most gut-punching queer dramas. 

We’re already counting down the days to September 19. We’re ready to be crushed, moved, and completely undone. Because we just know that this one’s going to completely shatter our souls, we just know it. 

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Carmen Emmi’s Plainclothes will hit selected theaters on September 19. Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!

Featured Image: Image Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures