Russell Tovey seen cruising in gay romance thriller Plainclothes’ official trailer
The film also stars Tom Blyth as a police officer assigned to entrap men in gay cruising hotspots
By Aaron Sugg
The official trailer has dropped for the gay romantic thriller Plainclothes, directed by Carmen Emmi and set amid 1990s New York’s cruising scene, starring heartthrob and Attitude cover star Russell Tovey.
The film features Hunger Games prequel lead Tom Blyth as Lucas, an undercover closeted police officer, alongside Years and Years actor Tovey as Andrew, a man who becomes the unexpected romantic focus of Lucas’s investigation.
The preview shows Lucas initially attempting to ensnare Andrew only to be met face to face, close enough to feel each other’s breath in a public toilet cubical.
Based on real events, the story follows a working-class officer assigned to entrap gay men in public cruising hotspots. In the sneak peak familiar spots include a shopping centre’s public toilets, a palace and even a garden centre.
According to the trailer’s official synopsis, “Lucas finds himself torn between duty and desire.”
“It was really intimate, really vivid” – Tom Blyth
Blyth previously told Variety: “It was really intimate, really vivid, and [the intimacy coordinator] was incredible. It felt very organic. It felt like we rehearsed it in a way where I think Russell and I both were made to feel confident and comfortable enough that we could lead it.”
As Lucas’s double life begins to unravel, his family warns in the trailer: “You can always tell when a man is hiding something.”
“It is so graphic” – Russell Tovey on intimate scenes
In an interview with Vanity Fair earlier this year, Tovey spoke about the pairs intimate scenes: “The stuff that we are doing in it is so graphic – you know what’s happening. It’s beautifully filmed and it’s romantic.”
The cast also includes Agatha All Along actress Maria Dizzia, as well as Christian Cooke, Gabe Fazio, Amy Forsyth and John Bedford Lloyd.
Plainclothes premiered on 26 January this year at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received the US Dramatic Special Jury Award for ensemble cast.
“Stellar” and “unfiltered and raw” are just some of the words critics have used to deserve the gay romance film.
Magnolia Pictures will release the film in US cinemas 19 September 2025, with the UK release date is yet to be announced.