It's much more than its plot synopsis, which tells of a 1990s period piece about an undercover police officer luring gay men into the crime of indecent exposure. In reality, "Plainclothes" is a meditation on the process of accepting oneself even as society and loved ones deem it wrong.

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.

With gay rights coming back into the crosshairs in almost every country across the globe, Carmen Emmi's slow-burn drama is sobering reminder of just how far these things have progressed in the last 30 years.

Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey are fantastic together in, 'Plainclothes,' a familiar but fantastically executed coming out tale

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.