Russell Tovey & Tom Blyth have a gay romance on the way—about shocking true events from LGBTQ+ history
Variety announced today that Tovey and Tom Blyth (best known as the young Coriolanus Snow in last fall’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes) have signed on to star in Plainclothes, a new independent drama from emerging writer-director Carmen Emmi.Subscribe to our daily newsletter for your front-row seat to all things entertainment with a sprinkle of everything else queer.The film takes its names from the term used to describe when an officer of the law is not dressed in uniform, but rather their civilian or “street” clothes—often in a manner of disguise, or going undercover.Set in the ’90s, Plainclothes is said to be inspired by true events, telling the story of a working-class police officer who is tasked with going undercover particularly with the focus of entrapping and apprehending gay men.
But when he begins to feel something for one of his targets, the officer finds himself question who he is—both in and out of uniform.While it’s not clear if there is a specific incident the film draws from, the history of gay entrapment is vast.
Especially pre-Stonewall, it was not uncommon for police forces to assign officers—yes, often the most handsome among their ranks—to go undercover around popular gay social settings and hookup spots, luring unsuspecting men in and then arresting them for disorderly conduct, public indecency, or something along those lines.Per The Atlantic, in New York between 1923 (when the state specifically criminalized male homosexual cruising) and 1966 (when pre-Stonewall gay activists convinced government officials to put an end to entrapment for cruising), over 50,000 men were estimated to have been arrested “for cruising in bars, streets, parks, and subway washrooms”—in NYC alone!Of course, entrapment didn’t end in ’66, and its been employed in various forms all across the globe.
Infamously, George Michael was arrested for “engaging in a lewd act” in a 1988 sting operation in Beverly Hills, and there have been reports of similar.
