In the best way possible, Plainclothes, the debut feature by the American writer-director Carmen Emmi, could be mistaken for an undiscovered gem from the 90s being rereleased in cinemas. Shot with grainy cinematography and a 4:3 aspect ratio, the 1997-set drama is an old-school psychosexual thriller that’s so true to the era, it’s gobsmacking when you realise you’ve seen the lead before – he was the star of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, a 2023 young adult blockbuster that cost literally 100 times the amount of Plainclothes.

Tom Blyth, a 30-year-old English actor, stars in Plainclothes as Lucas, a closeted cop in Syracuse, New York who goes undercover at shopping malls to entrap gay men in public toilets. Making eye contact with the oblivious victim, Lucas encourages the guy to undress or expose himself; as soon as a zip is undone, a fellow police officer rushes in to make the arrest. As Lucas doesn’t speak aloud to the man, it legally doesn’t count as entrapment.

“They’re using the silent language of cruising, with eyes, signals, and foot taps,” says Blyth. “He’s instigating it, just not verbally. It’s still entrapment.”

On the day of the UK premiere, I’m sat at a table in London with Blyth, Emmi, and the 41-year-old English actor Russell Tovey, who co-stars as Andrew. Moments after locking eyes as strangers, Lucas and Andrew are in a bathroom by the sink, seemingly about to kiss; instead of arranging an arrest, though, Lucas grabs Andrew’s phone number. A secret romance ensues: Lucas has a girlfriend, while Andrew is a priest.

“There’s this hypermasculinity, this toxic environment in the police force, where men aren’t soft with each other,” says Tovey. “But these two consenting adults have moments together with nurture and kindness. That is romantic, but also necessary because they’re so claustrophobic in their lives. And suddenly they’re able to be open.”

Blyth describes difficulty sleeping during the shoot: the paranoia he felt as Lucas wouldn’t go away. “Your brain logically knows, ‘I’m not Lucas, an undercover, closeted gay man entrapping other gay men,’ but your body doesn’t.” Is it different to Hunger Games, which is set in an alternate universe? “No. Whether the film is a small indie or a big, silly-budget feature, you’re still putting yourself through the experiences of the character.”

“I could sleep!” says Tovey, grinning.

“I couldn’t sleep,” says Emmi.

“We were emotionally in sync,” says Blyth, turning to Emmi.

“We would text each other at the same time, after shoot days, checking in with each other, and we couldn’t sleep,” says Emmi. “We’d say the same things at the same time. And then Russell came in, and there was this natural—”

“Throuple,” says Tovey, laughing. “A natural throuple. That’s what you were going to say, right?”

“Flow!” says Emmi.

To capture the period, Emmi shot the film on digital but tried to emulate 16mm grain (he cites Black Swan as a key inspiration) and switches to lo-fi Hi8 footage when Lucas daydreams. He came up with the idea in 2016, outlined it from November 2019 until March 2020, and had a finished draft in April 2020, just as lockdown started. “I was very anxious,” Emmi recalls. “I wrote it with a very punchy manner, which I think translated to this urgency.”

Emmi grew up in Syracuse and has previously described Plainclothes as a film he wished he could have watched when coming out in his youth. The script was inspired by a 2016 LA Times article about gay sex stings. However, entrapment is still going on in 2025: a few months ago, around 200 people were arrested or detained at Penn Station for “public exposure”; many were also taken into ICE custody.

People need to be aware of what’s going on in the margins of society, and to humanise people, not demonise them

“It’s like they’ve watched our film, and gone, ‘That’s a good idea,’” says Tovey, dismayed. “It’s all over the queer press. I hope the mainstream press will pick it up and run with it in an empathetic way.”

“It’s bittersweet to think we’ve made something that is necessary and vital,” says Blyth. “Because you wish it wasn’t vital or necessary or happening right now.”

Is it important for young people to know what it was like to be gay in 1997?

“You’ve got to tell queer narratives – historical and contemporary – as much as possible,” says Tovey. “People need to be aware of what’s going on in the margins of society, and to humanise people, not demonise them. This is a queer narrative, but it’s a universal story of wanting to be loved, free, and safe in the world. A queer audience is going to respond differently to an audience that isn’t queer, for sure. As a queer person, you’ve inherited trauma, and have an awareness of what it is to be LGBTQI+ historically. If you come to it from another angle, maybe you’re being educated, or you’re seeing characters being humanised, which is what art does best.”

Born in Birmingham, Blyth studied acting at Juilliard and became an overnight celebrity when cast as a young Coriolanus Snow in a Hunger Games prequel. Since then, he’s followed the route of Robert Pattinson (going from Twilight, to Claire Denis) and Joe Alwyn (going from being known for dating Taylor Swift, to Claire Denis) by doing indies like Plainclothes and, yes, Claire Denis’s new film, The Fence. Tovey, beloved for Him & Her, also went to America for HBO’s gay drama Looking and its Andrew Haigh-directed spinoff movie.

“The UK and Ireland have this amazing history of thespians and theatre,” says Blyth. “But I’ve always idolised the very naturalistic, gritty, American style of acting.”

“I’m partial to British actors,” says Emmi. “Kate Winslet’s my favourite actor. I come from theatre, and feel like there’s a respect for the script that’s in the blood of British acting.”

For their sex scenes, Blyth and Tovey used an intimacy coordinator, Joey Massa, whom they call “amazing”. Emmi describes Massa as essential for a first-time director who used a spreadsheet to document when Lucas would be undressed. “I found it helpful to have precautions, because they’re naked in a car, and I had a camera,” says Emmi. “But ultimately, everything I wanted, I got.” His matter-of-fact nature makes the room laugh. “And people got to feel respected.”

Plainclothes (Film still)

“I’ve worked with good and bad intimacy coordinators,” says Blyth. “Joey’s a really good one who made everything so much more comfortable, fun, and easy.” What does a bad one do? “It becomes too technical.”

“Like choreography,” says Tovey.

“I’ve heard of intimacy coordinators inserting themselves into a dynamic where it might not be needed,” says Emmi.

“A dynamic needs to thrive on its own,” says Blyth. “Russell and I had to find our own chemistry. Someone else can’t prescribe that to you. But what they can do is facilitate a space that allows you to find it in a healthy and safe way, where the power dynamic is equal.” I note that Claire Denis discovered what an intimacy coordinator is when I interviewed her for Both Sides of the Blade: she was so disgusted, it derailed the interview. “I’m seeing Claire next week. I’ll persuade her to hire one!”

The previous week, the trio attended screenings of Plainclothes in New York where Emmi was told by viewers they’d seen it multiple times. “That’s the greatest compliment,” says the director. “It’s your time!”

Emmi reveals he saw Anora four times and is desperate to meet Sean Baker. After Tovey wonders if the Tangerine director has seen Plainclothes yet, Blyth jokes, “We all made this film so that we can meet Sean Baker.”

“That’s the only reason,” says Tovey.

The Plainclothes credits hit, I note, after a hard cut, which makes you immediately want to rewatch that final scene.

“That’s what we hear from audiences,” says Tovey. “They’re like, ‘What happens next? Where’s Lucas? Where’s Andrew?’ We’ve achieved something great if these characters are living rent-free with people when they leave the movie theatre.”

“Rent-free,” Blyth concurs. “But for the price of a movie ticket.”

Plainclothes is in UK cinemas on October 10.