Plainclothes ⁞⁞ Movie Spotlight

Taking place in 1997, the drama Plainclothes from writer/director Carmen Emmi tells the story of Lucas (Tom Blyth) a young police officer working undercover, charged with luring and arresting gay men for public indecency. Himself closeted, Lucas finds his job and his personal life becoming more difficult in the wake of his father's death as he is plagued with panic attacks related to his actions towards other gay men. Lucas crosses paths with the older Andrew (Russell Tovey) while on the job, but finds himself immediately drawn to the man. Despite an intimate moment in the mall bathroom, Lucas does not report Andrew's behavior, hiding it from his partner Ron (Christian Cooke). Lucas and Andrew continue to meet, with Lucas lying about his identity and using his father Gus' name. Despite this, Lucas is unable to escape the growing intensity of his feelings for Andrew, who makes him feel safe in their secrecy. This leads the two to begin a clandestine affair until Andrew cuts things off, upsetting Lucas. 

With his mental state growing more fragile under the weight of his secrets, things spiral out of control for Lucas. He loses a letter from Andrew addressed to Gus, which ends up in the hands of his toxic uncle (Gabe Fazio) who believes the contents of the letter are directed at Lucas' deceased father. This causes turmoil for him at home. Meanwhile, he uses his job to track down Andrew to a church, where he's shocked to learn that he's a pastor. Andrew tries to get him to understand that they cannot be together and that Lucas has the opportunity to find peace and freedom that Andrew doesn't have. When Andrew's wife and children arrive there, Andrew is further forced to push Lucas away. A final confrontation with his uncle pushes Lucas over the edge, leading him to reveal the truth behind the letter to his grieving mother (Maria Dizzia). The film also featured newcomer Sam Asa Brownstein. The out actor played Christian, a target for Lucas while he's undercover at the start of the film.