Produced by Element Pictures and starring Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling, A24 has acquired the U.S. distribution rights for Pillion, according to Variety.
Skarsgård is known for his roles in Succession, The Northman and Big Little Lies, the latter of which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award in 2017. Melling, known for playing Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter films, has recently appeared in films such as The Pale Blue Eye and Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Harvest.
Pillion is the debut feature film of U.K. filmmaker Harry Lighton, who earned a 2018 BAFTA nomination for his short film “Wren Boys,” which made its U.S. debut at the Sundance Film Festival. “Wren Boys” cinematographer Nick Morris will return to work on Pillion in the same role. Element Pictures, an Irish studio known for co-producing films such as Poor Things, The Killing of a Sacred Deer and The Lobster, is producing the film. The studio is funded by BBC Film and the BFI, which awards National Lottery funding. Fremantle, Picturehouse Entertainment and September Film are also financing the project and will handle its release in the U.K. and Benelux.
“Element’s Emma Norton, Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe are producing together with Lee Groombridge. BBC Film’s Eva Yates, Louise Ortega for the BFI, Fremantle’s Christian Vesper, Claire Binns for Picturehouse, September Film’s Pim Hermeling, Cornerstone’s Alison Thompson and Mark Gooder and Alexander Skarsgård are executive producers.”
Pillion tells the story of Colin (Melling), a meek introvert whose life is turned upside down when he meets Ray (Skarsgård), the leader of a motorbike club. Ray takes Colin in as his submissive, dragging him from his banal existence into a new, risqué lifestyle on the road. As their relationship develops, Colin must grapple with the possibility that this new life is just as problematic as the one he left behind.
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