Set in Syracuse, New York, in the mid ‘90s, Carmen Emmi’s debut feature revolves around a young cop assigned to a sting operation that forces him to confront his sexuality.

Tom Blyth talks about playing a closeted gay cop in 'Plainclothes' and his sex scenes with co-star Russell Tovey.

The smoldering chemistry between the two is palpable, and Blyth is especially good as 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.

"I don't think you can pigeonhole queer characters because there's billions of these stories to tell." - Russell Tovey

The film, which marks the feature debut of Carmen Emmi, follows an undercover officer (Blyth) who is assigned to lure and arrest gay men. His life gets turned upside down when he falls for a target (Tovey).

The actor discusses his portrayal as a man caught in a morally fraught police sting operation in the new film premiering at Sundance Film Festival

Tom Blyth and Russel Tovey star alongside each other in a new, steamy queer thriller, Plainclothes. Directed by Carmen Emmi, the psychodrama follows the story of Lucas (Blyth) as an undercover police officer who’s assigned to seduce gay men and arrest them for indecent behaviour.

Tovey tells TheWrap he wished his 1990s-set movie was "stuck in that time in history," but its themes still hit close to home The post Russell Tovey Says LGBTQ Drama ‘Plainclothes’ Is Sadly Resonant in Today’s ‘Terrifying Times’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Writer-director Carmen Emmi's debut feature starts off shaky, and overuses lo-fi VHS footage but there's no denying the film's raw emotion.