Indie Film Weekly [EP 39]: Plainclotes (2025) Predators (2025) La Haine (1995)
Welcome back to Indie Film Weekly, star date Sept 19, 2025. I’m Glen Reynolds, your host. This week, we’ve got three theatrical releases that dive deep into desire, deception, and documentary drama. Plus, a Spanish TVOD gem featuring an unexpected dinner guest, and a French classic that still hits like a riot grenade. As always, please support these films in a real theater if you can. Your ticket purchase keeps indie cinema alive.
As always, this podcast is sponsored by Indie Igniter — the platform helping indie filmmakers find their audience, fund their dreams, and maybe even figure out what to post on Instagram.
New in Theaters
Plainclothes sneaks into theaters with a story set in the 1990s, where an undercover officer is tasked with a troubling assignment: entrap gay men for arrest. But when he becomes emotionally entangled with one of his targets, the operation spirals into something far more intimate and dangerous. First-time director Carmen Emmi delivers a confident, emotionally layered debut inspired by real-life “vice squad” operations.
It’s part thriller, part queer coming-of-age reckoning. Plainclothes has earned comparisons to Cruising and Moonlight—which is kind of a wild combo—but it works. Emmi reportedly developed the story after discovering his uncle’s old NYPD files. Lead actor Zachary Latham, mostly known for his stage work, gives a breakout performance full of restraint and turmoil. This one might rattle you—but it also stays with you.
Also in theaters, Predators is the kind of documentary that forces you to squirm—and question your own appetite for justice. The film unpacks the rise and fall of the NBC show To Catch a Predator, diving deep into the ethics and chaos of turning criminal stings into primetime spectacle. Director David Osit goes beyond just the internet chat transcripts to explore the show's real-world impact—on the arrested, the audience, the producers, and the law itself.
Turns out when you mix law enforcement with reality TV, things get murky fast. The doc includes never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with former producers who reflect—sometimes with regret—on what they helped build. Osit doesn’t pull punches, but he also doesn’t preach. This is a tough, layered, and thought-provoking ride. Just maybe don’t watch it with your parents.
Finally in theaters, Megadoc lifts the curtain on one of the most ambitious, chaotic, and maybe cursed film productions in recent memory—Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. The incomparable director Mike Figgis takes us inside the madness with footage from the set, interviews with key crew, and an unfiltered look at what it means to chase greatness (and maybe bankrupt yourself in the process).
There’s something kind of thrilling about watching a living legend go full Icarus—and the crew try to keep up. Megadoc balances reverence and skepticism, reminding us that passion projects can be both brilliant and baffling. Rumor has it that one of the film’s camera operators wore a GoPro for 100 consecutive days. If you like your docs messy, operatic, and full of wild ambition, this one’s for you.
So in theaters this week, that’s Plainclothes, Predators and Megadoc!
Films to Rent or Download
On TVOD, check out Waiting for Dalí which serves up a whimsical mix of art and gastronomy set in 1970s Spain. Talented chef Fernando arrives in the seaside town of Cadaqués—the surreal stomping grounds of Salvador Dalí himself. What begins as a culinary internship morphs into a fever dream of melting clocks, sensual seafood, and artistic awakening.
Directed by David Pujol and starring José García, this charming oddity was overshadowed last year by another film about the artist, but it stands on its own as a warm, food-forward fable. It’s less biopic, more magical realism. There’s even a sequence inspired by Dalí’s famed cookbook that borders on the psychedelic.
Indie Classic
And for our classic indie film this week, we revisit the 30th anniversary of La Haine, a film that’s lost none of its punch. Mathieu Kassovitz’s black-and-white masterpiece follows 24 explosive hours in the lives of three friends—Vinz, Said, and Hubert—in the Parisian slums after a riot. It’s electric, angry, and heartbreakingly relevant. Vincent Cassel’s performance as Vinz remains iconic, equal parts swagger and desperation.
Behind the lens, Kassovitz famously insisted the film be shot in real Paris suburbs during real riots to preserve its raw, unscripted truth. The film won Best Director at Cannes in 1995 and helped define a generation of French cinema. Newly restored in 4K, it’s now available on TVOD via Amazon or AppleTV—so if you missed it the first time, now’s the moment. And if you did see it in the ’90s, prepare to be stunned by how little has changed.
And that’s a wrap for the September 19 edition of Indie Film Weekly. Whether you're going undercover in 1990s NYC, questioning the ethics of tabloid justice, or chasing Coppola's cinematic white whale—this week’s lineup isn’t playing it safe. And if you're just here for the tapas and Dalí mustache wax, we’ve got you covered too.
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