Pillion can best be described by what it is not. It is a queer love story that doesn’t feature any tragic subplots or homophobic family members. It features a gay biker gang that doesn’t look like Tom of Finland caricatures. The Dom-Sub plotline isn’t contingent on escaping an abusive relationship or “fixing” the dom a la Fifty Shades of Grey. At its most transgressive, Pillion is simply exploring the lives of members of a kink community openly and honestly through the eyes of a timid, yet excitable protagonist. Writer/Director Harry Lighton takes these dynamics and explores what they mean for someone who is seemingly just discovering who they are and what they like. In a post-Heated Rivalry landscape, a film like Pillion is filling in the gaps of necessary optimistic depictions of queerness in a very accessible package.

Colin, played by Henry Melling, is comfortable with going along for the ride in life. Our first glimpse of him is from the back seat of his parents’ car being driven to a bar where he is not only performing in a barbershop quartet with his father, but also going on a blind date set up by his mother. At this bar is where he meets Ray, a tall, enigmatic biker played by Alexander Skarsgård, who completely upends all Colin’s expectations of what he could even be interested in in another person. Their first interaction is a wordless exchange of glances that immediately sets up a mutual dom-sub interest. The connection is less of a meet cute and more of a “u up?” text. Their following meeting is an intimate moment in an alleyway while walking their dogs on Christmas. It’s a scene that could feel dangerous, but is shot with such care. Lighton lingers on the sensuality of leather unzipping. Colin brings a game attitude to what is clearly a new experience for him, while never letting go of his awkward boyish charm.

Pillion’s leads are an excellent pair. Skarsgård physically looms large over Melling. In their first night home together, Lighton expertly frames the two men in boxes: Colin in a tiny bathroom mirror and Ray filling up the majority of a door frame. There is a clear power dynamic in their relationship, (Colin cooks, runs errands, sleeps on the floor) but Ray never feels frightening. He wears this blue and white motorcycle one piece suit that makes him look like a superhero. Colin is in awe of Ray, but knows it’s because he found something he’s good at where he feels appreciated. Pillion is filled with sweet moments that you can’t help swoon over. The wrestling scene is so intense and strangely funny, but culminates in a brilliant bit of understanding and communication that you’re just not finding in a rom com in this day and age. Colin’s birthday and the following camping trip is an almost perfect short film in the middle of this 2 hour feature. This scene is the film’s most graphic in terms of nudity and sex, but that does not cross your mind by the time Ray says his last line to Colin. 

As the film progresses, Colin starts to figure out what it is he’s looking for in this relationship. He tries to get Ray to come to dinner with his parents, a wonderfully supportive duo played by Lesley Sharp and Douglas Hodge. The dinner scene is another pivotal moment of subversion. Any old gay love story would have this scene be the climactic blow up between parents and lover because of their orientation, but Lighton is so smart to play it defensively. Peggy, Colin’s mom, is confused and angered by Ray’s secrecy and attitude toward Colin. Melling is so heartbreaking. It’s such a difficult needle to thread to go from comforting two different people in two completely opposite ways. Toward the end, the film takes a bit of a tone shift as Colin starts testing some limits that feel a little antithetical to the character. The film feels like it needs him to hit some beats for the ending to work as well as it does. It’s not even that his temper tantrum feels unjustified. It just feels like you can see the gears of the screenplay moving in a way the rest of the film had been doing a great job of masking. The “Day Off” sequence following this is actually one of the most delightful things committed to film. It’s easy to recommend Pillion on the strength of this scene alone. 

4 and ½ out of 5 stars.

It’s so refreshing to see depictions of a kink community with such humanity and light. Pillion is never exploitative, always welcoming, and super hilarious. It’s the perfect Valentine’s Day film for a couple looking for something a little more off the beaten path.