Set in 1990s New York, "Plainclothes" follows Andrew (played by Russell Tovey), an undercover police officer tasked with entrapping gay men as part of his assignment. The story delves into Andrew's complicated relationship with one of his targets, challenging his loyalties and stirring deep personal conflicts amid rising pressure to make arrests. John Bedford Lloyd co-stars as Lt. Sollars, adding further depth to the narrative tension between professional duty and personal emotions.
Trivia:
1. Russell Tovey, known for his powerful portrayals in LGBTQ+ roles, worked closely with the director to ensure the depiction of undercover operations and the emotional turmoil was authentic and respectful.
2. The series was praised for its nuanced take on LGBT issues during the 1990s, a period often underrepresented in police procedural dramas.
3. John Bedford Lloyd drew upon real-life law enforcement contacts to bring an added layer of realism to his role as Lt. Sollars, helping ground the show’s dramatic conflicts in authentic police procedural detail.
Critics' Reviews
70
For most of the rest of this conflicted identity drama, Emmi and editor Erik Vogt-Nilsen construct fast-paced montages mixing formats (low-fi video footage and pristine digitally shot images) that mimic the turmoil inside Lucas’ mind as a closeted gay man. These deliberately choppy collages feature shots of his parents, his ex-girlfriend, his work colleagues, and even childhood memories, all rushing vertiginously through him, as manifestations of anxiety because he fears being outed and ostracized. Initially, the kinetic visual vitality of “Plainclothes” plunges one effectively into Lucas’ inner ordeal, but for as much as the form evokes how the character experiences the narrative, the relentless and repetitive fragmentation coated in in-your-face music overwhelms. And even if that feeling is the desired reaction, one wishes for a bit more discernment in its implementation.
80
Emmi pivots between mediums to externalise the disarray in Lucas’ head. A closeted young man during the time of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, his only frame of reference for homosexuality is the deeply misunderstood one laid out by the law, one that links those feelings to deviance. And so, shaky VHS camcorder footage (similar to that used by spying officers) is spliced into more conventional camerawork, with cinematographer Ethan Palmer creating moments of forbidden intimacy through startlingly close zoom-work. When Lucas is overcome with anxiety, his surroundings shake violently, the sound design cranked up.
Full Cast of Plainclothes
Christian Cooke
Ron
Tom Blyth
Lucas
Russell Tovey
Andrew
John Bedford Lloyd
Lt. Sollars
Crew of Plainclothes
Full backstage crew list →