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.

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.

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.

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.