While Pillion has been referred to often as "the gay biker movie", and sometimes as the "sub/dom film with the lad that used to play Dudley Dursley", it's actually got a lot more going on than those short descriptors might suggest. Not that those descriptions are wildly inaccurate. Pillion IS a gay biker movie, to some degree, and it IS the sub/dom film starring Harry Melling (seeing his Harry Potter role shrink smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror as he moves, for better or worse, from one interesting project to the next).
Adapted from a book, "Box Hill", by Adam Mars-Jones, this is the tale of Colin (Melling), a young man who encounters Ray (Alexander Skarsgård). Ray can give Colin what he is seeking in a relationship, but maybe not everything. Colin, you see, has a real affinity for devotion. He enjoys being very submissive. And Ray is very happy to be dominant. As long as he sees that the dynamic is working for the two of them. Can it keep working though?
Directed by Harry Lighton, who also adapted the source material into screenplay form, this is one hell of a directorial feature debut. It's bold, in terms of the exploration of the relationship and the sex and nudity shown onscreen, it's interestingly nuanced, and it's surprisingly moving by the time all of the pieces fall into place for the finale. While the relationship shown onscreen isn't a great depiction (there are no important conversations about rules, boundaries, reciprocity, etc), it's arguably a necessary one for someone still trying to find out their own boundaries and self-imposed rulebook. The negatives are placed alongside the positives to show something that, while more extreme than most, puts the main characters in a very similar position to many other people (no matter their gender or sexuality). Every relationship can have aspects that seem odd to those looking on from the outside, but if things work and happiness is maintained then that's all that matters (as long as everything is legal, of course, and nobody else is being hurt).
And that's the thing about Pillion. While it will upset the homophobes, and maybe make more unprepared viewers gasp at some of the more graphic moments, it's basically about things that we've seen in many other movies. Self-discovery, what it takes to make a relationship work, grabbing moments of happiness. The sub/dom dynamic may make it all seem unique, but the journey will be very familiar to those who see beyond the assless chaps and symbolic padlocks.
Melling may be the one who goes through more of a transformation here, but both he and Skarsgård are equally good. The fact that the relationship can be so easily believed, even as one individual is being constantly tested, is testament to how good the leads are. It's also worth mentioning Lesley Sharp and Douglas Jones, playing the parents of Colin. They have a very good time playing generally understanding parents who find themselves a bit bemused when they see their son starting to become some kind of man-servant for a handsome stranger, and Sharp is especially delightful when dropping a well-chosen insult during a dramatic dinner scene.
I could say much more. I enjoyed the score from Oliver Coates. I thought the visuals and sound design were fantastic. There's not really any one element I would criticise, although things become almost unbearable for viewers at times. Thankfully, the third act delivers a very welcome silver lining after a sky full of gathering clouds.
9/10
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