Movie review
Relationships are about give and take, about finding balance. The same principle applies to the core relationship in “Pillion,” Harry Lighton’s sweetly charming, kink-friendly BDSM rom-com — just with more chains and leather and rules about who sleeps in the bed and who sleeps on the floor.
Based on the 2020 novel “Box Hill” by Adam Mars-Jones, “Pillion” (Lighton’s feature debut) unabashedly explores the contours of the dominant-submissive relationship between Colin (Harry Melling) and Ray (Alexander Skarsgård). For Colin, who sings in a barbershop quartet, works as a parking lot enforcement officer and has little else going on — the movie opens with him on a date his mother set up — his submission to Ray in a secluded back alley is an act of becoming, a shattering of the mundane normalcy of his life.
Ray, on the other hand, borders on enigmatic. After meeting at a pub on Christmas Eve, he’s quick to take Colin on as his submissive, to instruct him on his expectations — cooking his meals, cleaning his Spartan apartment, shaving his head, no kissing — but we learn almost nothing about him personally, other than that he wears dominance like a well-tailored leather jacket.
The power imbalance is baked in from the start, though that’s the point. Colin quickly acclimates, finding camaraderie with the members of Ray’s biker club as he wears a padlocked metal chain around his neck. (Around Ray’s neck, the key.) Nick Morris’ cinematography deftly captures the glee on Colin’s face as he joins Ray’s world; his sense of rapture as he rides on the back of Ray’s motorcycle, the city streaming by, is evident. (“Pillion” refers to the back seat of a motorcycle.)
Throughout, you never wonder if Colin is anything but enthusiastic when consenting to Ray’s exacting demands, but it does become apparent that the two never really had a true conversation about boundaries and what to expect from one another. That lack of communication begins to interfere with their dynamic, especially when Colin’s parents demand he introduce Ray to them properly. (Colin’s relationship with his parents is sweet, if a little overbearing on their part.) Dinner is, to put it mildly, painful — mom Peggy (a lovely Lesley Sharp) lays into Ray about how he treats Colin; Ray, breathtakingly assured of himself, tells her it’s none of her concern; dad Pete (Douglas Hodge, delightfully humorous) just wants to enjoy the meal.
It’s one of many scenes excellently handled by Lighton, who also wrote the screenplay. Ray and Colin’s kink community may not be conventional, but its graphic nature isn’t played for salacious shock. Lighton takes the time to envelop us in this world, to help us better understand these characters’ desires and motivations. He’s also generous with the humor: Most of the sex scenes come off as authentically and hilariously awkward. (Piercings in unusual places will do that.)
Still, a melancholic aura hangs over the entire thing as Colin’s wants develop over time. Melling, who played Dudley Dursley in the “Harry Potter” films, is phenomenal here. His eyes alone tell a story of lust and discovery and grief and elation, and he grants Colin a sense of idealistic wonder that’s slowly tempered by reality. And Ray may play it cool most of the time, but a late scene, his blue eyes demanding your attention, will break your heart. (While bittersweet, the film isn’t as dark as its source material.)
Also setting the mood: Oliver Coates’ music selections — the Italian cover of “Chariot” and Cobra Man’s “Bad Feeling” among them — which are heavy on the yearning and not particularly subtle.
More coming-of-age than love story, “Pillion” finds joy in Colin’s journey of learning who he truly is. His road there is a little bumpy — like riding on the back of a motorcycle — and it may be a path less traveled, but it’s a worthwhile one all the same.
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