In his unorthodox queer romance, first-time feature director Harry Lighton has fashioned something highly improbable: a film about a sadomasochistic relationship that is both transgressive and disarming. Harry Melling plays the mild Colin, whose gayness is happily accepted by his parents (Lesley Sharp and Douglas Hodge) and who is most extroverted when singing in a barbershop quartet. When this sweet-natured square catches the eye of strapping, leather-clad biker Ray (Alexander Skarsgård) at the local pub, he finds himself entering a submissive role—both domestic and erotic—for the inscrutable beauty who brings him both satisfaction and confusion, pain and pleasure. As their affair continues, Colin must decide what he wants and needs—and who he really is. Comic without ever descending into judgment of its characters, Pillion is a beguiling inquiry into the social and sexual performances of masculinity, featuring fearless work from Melling and Skarsgård. (Synopsis from the 2025 New York Film Festival)
“It has all the trappings of a great British romantic-comedy…. But PILLION is, in all its tender, bum-baring glory, so much more: a nuanced and affirming exploration of intimacy within a subculture that so rarely sees this kind of big-screen treatment…. An unconventional love story that finds pathos amid the PVC, this triumphant directorial debut bares so much more than flesh. Bruising and brilliant.” —Beth Webb, Empire Magazine “PILLION is maybe the loveliest movie you’ll ever see about BDSM biker culture without skimping on the provocatively explicit scenes.” —Esther Zuckerman, Daily Beast “Ultimately a deeply moving love story, one where we become the submissives to Lighton’s strange, beautiful, and sexy vision. It also never hurts to be anchored by two actors who are totally game and committed to that vision, and willing to go there, chains, gags, assless chaps and all.” —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire
