Plainclothes is a story about desire and anxiety. These two things don't seem like an obvious pairing on first thought, but are both absolutely connected. Desire is having a strong feeling for something that we want, whereas anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness. Sometimes, our desires are unruly or forbidden by the situation that we live in, as is the case for the protagonist in Plainclothes.

We follow police officer Lucas (Tom Blyth) whose job it is to go the shopping mall and attract gay men into the public bathroom. When he has successfully lured them in, Lucas gets them into an intimate situation so that they can be arrested for public indecency. However, things begin to take a turn when, during a routine shift, Lucas comes across Andrew (Russell Tovey). Lucas feels a strong attraction to his new target, and he aborts the operation. What ensues is a story of self-identity, reflection, and heartbreak.

This is the debut feature from Carmin Emmi who both wrote and directed Plainclothes after discovering news articles about undercover sting operations being carried out as of way of entrapping gay men. Paired with the anxiety and self-degradation of being found out to be gay, Plainclothes perfectly captures a gnawing sense of dread throughout, as we become concerned for Lucas and the increasingly compromising situation he finds himself in.

As far as queer representation goes, Plainclothes feels like one big panic attack. Lucas has been questioning his sexuality for a while when the film begins. He's been in a straight relationship prior, but he has mentioned to his ex-girlfriend that he is attracted to men and women, but he's not told anyone else. Especially not his family. Lucas begins to feel tremendous guilt for his part in the sting operations and when he meets Andrew, something within him begins to accept that he is attracted to men, and that he is now going to act on this urge.

While Lucas and Andrew begin to meet and have an intimate encounter, Lucas is portrayed as feeling both some form of self-acceptance and an overwhelming fear of being found out. While he's with Andrew, he's smitten with the connection he's made; this is the real him. However, when they are apart, he has this unbearable loneliness and anxiety that disrupts his everyday life. It's incredibly tough to watch and is portrayed excellently by Blyth's performance, Emmi's script, and artistic editing choices.

Blyth is particularly great here, making Lucas feel like an incredibly sympathetic and tragic protagonist. He is little boy lost, wrapped in a state of constant fear and agonising loneliness. Tovey also does fantastic work portraying the complexity of Andrew's character.

Despite all the good, Plainclothes does falter in a few areas. While Emmi has crafted a film that captures the anxiety of the queer experience, there were quite a few aspects of the film that felt underdeveloped. Mainly, the sting operations that Lucas was involved in felt very unexplained and needed a bit more time to develop. Sometimes, the film feels like there's more style than substance.

Plainclothes is a refreshingly different kind of queer film. It may not be perfect, but there's a lot of great talent on display both in front of and behind the camera.

Plainclothes is out in UK cinemas now