Pillion

Bluesky

If you were to imagine Rodney from Only Fools and Horses taking his first tentative steps into the world of queer BDSM bikers, you wouldn’t be far off the tone of Harry Lighton’s sweet-natured but bracingly graphic Pillion, which has doses of dominance and the domestic in equal measure. The constant contrast is the trick, which later extends to the emotional stakes.

Colin (Harry Melling) is a gay traffic warden, who still lives at home with his warm and accepting parents (Lesley Sharp and Douglas Hodge, both in fine comic form) and, despite singing with a barbershop outfit, seems to exist in a bubble of loneliness. Blind dates, inevitably, do not go well for people like Colin but, when he spots the long tall drink of leather-clad manliness that is Ray (Alexander Skarsgård) in a bar, something imperceptibly shifts gear. Colin is a people pleaser, something that an alpha like Ray is quick to spot – although he calls it an “aptitude for devotion”. A date is arranged that turns out to be considerably less salubrious but more satisfying than Colin imagined, which opens the door to the pair entering a sub/dom relationship.

Lighton, whose film is based on Adam Mars-Jones’ Box Hill, doesn’t hold back much. Beyond Colin being relegated to the floor at the foot of Ray’s bed each night and given a to-do list around the house, the writer/director shows the sexual element of the fetish in full flow – from a wrestling session in outfits with the arse cut out of them to a day out with some fellow subs and doms. The sex scenes, though fairly explicit, have a matter-of-fact vibe, often laced with humour, and are non-exploitative. Lighton spent time with the UK’s Gay Bikers Motorcycle Club to research the film and their advice appears to have been taken on board in terms of creating a believable world for Colin and Ray to inhabit.

The success of Lighton’s film rests on him keeping the viewer with Colin psychologically as he begins to explore his desires within the framework of the sub/dom relationship which he enjoys. Lighton also gets a lot of emotional mileage out of Colin’s lovely relationship with his mum and dad, with a scene in which Ray comes to dinner a comedy of manners triumph. Melling is terrific as the sweetly compliant Colin, talking a mile a minute sometimes, but letting every facial tick indicate his character’s headspace when faced with this brave new world. Skarsgård, normally such a scene-stealer, is much more taciturn here which is a bit of an issue early on, but when he is called upon to show a crack in Ray’s veneer, he really makes it count. The emotional pay-off is strong as Colin learns that while he may love dancing to another’s tune, the secret of true harmony is making his own voice heard.

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