Plainclothes

I didn't know what to expect from Plainclothes but I found myself drawn in. The story is quite slow and simple but it works because the acting carries everything. Russell Tovey in particular makes it believable and real. He has this way of showing small emotions that makes you feel like you're right there with him.

The film has a few moments that feel very raw and intimate. Some people will call them graphic but to me they felt honest. It wasn't done for shock. It was more about the connection between the characters and how careful they were with each other.

I don't usually sit through films easily but there was something about this one that kept me watching. Maybe it was the performances or the mood of it all. It isn't a loud or fast film. It's quiet, moody and you have to let yourself sink into it.

I wouldn't say it's perfect. There are times where it drifts and you wonder where it's going. But in the end I felt glad I'd watched it. It stays with you after the credits. That's rare for me.

Wow. I seriously enjoyed this film. Loved the way it was shot; grainy and authentic. The director really evoked the time and place so well. The acting was all round knock out (I can see why it won Sundance ensemble award), but particular credit to Tom Blyth - an actor I am not familiar with. He hooked me in from the 1st second and never let go until the last line of the film. Maybe he just reminded me of myself in the 90's; expectant, excited, hopeful, disappointed, frustrated all wrapped up in one confusing mess. There are not many films that I watch more than once (ok, I've seen Aliens more times than I can count) but I hope to revisit this one at some point in the future.

I really struggle to care about romance films. Love is such a private, subjective, and in many ways arbitrary experience and, as a show-don't-tell medium, movies in my opinion just aren't an easy art through which to explore how people feel it. Generally movies standardize it to "well she fills his X deficit/need and he fills her Y deficit/need and that's why they work". I don't care about such contrived, transactional relationship.

Plainclothes, however, completely breaks through this trap. For spoilers I won't detail how, but this easily the most "real" romance I've seen in recent memory, perhaps late memory. I teared up several times in this one. If you're gay or bi, this is especially moving. But even if you're not, you're in for a novel concept and a tense story to keep you glued through an eye-opening experience about gay love, or the lackthereof...

Another reason this works so well is that, while substantively a tragic romance, it FEELS like you're watching a thriller due to the pacing, anxious cinematography, and tense writing structure.

So, so good. Keep an eye out on the creative team. Exceptional film.

I went into this film blind and did not know what to expect .Found Great acting and and an amazing capture of the stress, anxiety and fear one felt in the late 90's being a closeted gay man; told with flashbacks of home movie clips appropriate for each time period from the 70's 80's and 90's. It really highlights the trauma done to men who experience this. The panic sequences were really well done I hope younger audiences can appreciate that it wasn't as easy back then.

I felt what the characters felt, i've been there. I was stunned that a film can make me remember those feelings. Fear, panic, compassion and tears means a job well done.

Wow. Very well made film. Very emotional ending at the very end. It's such a well crafted film. I do not come from a rural town nor from a religious environment but I have sensed this feeling of being isolated and scared of other people to know about me being gay. I have never seen a film that conveys these feelings as well as in this film. It's boiling inside the protagonist. He can't fight it off. He needs to free himself otherwise it'll kill him. The chemistry between the two lovers is really good. It's a gorgeous film with a really good soundtrack also. Well done Carmen Emmi, you had me sob at the end. It's an important film. Important these stories are being told.