Pillion

VIFF REVIEW: BY DARREN ZAKUS

February 10, 2026

3.5 OUT OF 5 STARS

Pillion is simultaneously erotic and gut wrenching as Harry Lighton explores the intricacies of BDSM relationships without restraint in his brilliant feature film debut, that with the powerful performances of Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård, results in a disarming and beautiful film if audiences are able to get past its undeniably explicit nature.

Audiences have been conditioned to a certain type of romance film, but Harry Lighton is ready to disrupt everything about that expectation with his latest film. In what can only be labeled as a “dom-com”, the exact opposite of a “rom-com”, Pillion immerses audiences in the BDSM world of the gay community, full of motorbike riders, dogs and rough sex. While the film may be uncomfortable to the more casual viewer not well versed in this particular world, Lighton’s feature directorial debut as he adapts Adam Mars-Jones’ novel Box Hill finds an unflinching honesty in the relationship he portrays that with the excellent pairing of Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård at the centre of the film, allows Pillion to be a raw, erotic and devastating work of art that you won’t soon forget.

If anything, Pillion is the opposite of subtle, nor is this film for anyone not prepared for an extreme form of pleasure, which is exactly what a film revolving around a BDSM relationship needs to be. Wasting no time to introduce the audience to Colin and Ray and their off colour relationship, or the attraction that Colin feels for Ray, Lighton immerses audiences right into the world of BDSM. By the third scene, there is oral sex in an alleyway on Christmas and Colin is licking Ray’s boots, which will no doubt turn some viewers off who weren’t fully aware of how explicit the movie they were about to watch is. But by diving right into the material, Lighton is able to better examine the intricate nature of BDSM relationships, finding something more honest to say as he crafts Colin’s sexual awakening story. There is no question that the film is explicit, from wrestling scenes and moments of Ray forcefully topping Colin, as the subject matter requires, though Lighton finds an intimacy with the subservient relationship between Colin and Ray and builds the heart of the film around this. 

With the film being told from the perspective of Colin, who is experiencing this world for the first as the audience may be too, Lighton frames the story with a sense of wonder. There’s a magic that the audience can feel as Colin experiences Ray’s world with fresh eyes, as Colin meets Ray’s biker gang who are all in similar relationships, portrayed by real members of the queer community who served as advisors on the film which gives the film a sincere authenticity. At the same time, the production design features lots of desaturated colours (largely greys and faded blues) that capture the lack of fairytale romance present in this film, playing against audience expectations for a romance in such relationships, helping to develop the intensity of Colin and Ray’s relationship. This intensity is only bolstered by the creative choices that make specific moments of the film more shocking with the buildup that Lighton gives to them, such as when Colin finds out he has to sleep on the rug or the reveal of Ray’s monstrous cock, which plays out like the reveal of Jaws in Jaws as it is teased and everyone knows what is coming but still delivers a bewildering moment.

While the story itself may seem cold and harsh from an outsider who will no doubt have similar views to Colin’s mother in that pivotal dinner scene, especially when compared to some of the film’s lighter moments, but in the words of Ray, this film is not for them. It contains a very specific narrative that is going to speak to its target audience due to its unwavering honesty in its depiction of the relationship at the centre of the film, as Colin undergoes a sexual awakening and discovers a confidence and the type of relationship he wants as he leaves the childhood safety of the world his parents have nurtured for him up to this point in life. It’s not something that many viewers will understand, very similar to Colin’s parents in the film, but Lighton has written a dom-com that speaks to a subset of the queer community that has not seen in mainstream filmmaking before.

Though as insightful and compassionate as Lighton’s writing is, the film would not work without the performances of Melling and Skarsgård as Colin and Ray respectively. Melling, best known for his supporting roles, is nothing short of incredible as Colin. Instantly capturing Colin’s boyish amazement of Ray and this strange new world he is experiencing, Melling is hopeful and vibrant throughout the film, even as he is forced to reconcile everything he is experiencing with Ray to what he has believed love to be due to societal standards. It's a deeply internal performance by Melling, but one that hits every right note to allow audiences to go along this journey with Colin that creates a care for the character throughout. 

Skarsgård without question has the disarming masculinity and physique to be Ray, causing an undeniable wave of heat to overcome viewers as he dons his revealing leather outfits on screen, but it is quiet intensity and menacing dominance that makes him the only actor who could pull off the role. With an authoritative presence, Skarsgård has a powerful influence on both Melling and viewers, creating an intoxicating presence in the film with an undeniable magnetism that will put all under his dominant spell and have you hanging on Ray’s every word. Though in the moments where Ray breaks from the BDSM relationship, Skarsgård finds a warmth to Ray that creates a caring and funny individual, playing an important part to the story as Colin explores the possibility of having a more affectionate relationship beyond the BDSM element of their connection, helping to create the heartbreak and beauty of the film’s final act. As a pairing, Melling and Skarsgård as unstoppable as they capture the power dynamics of their characters relationship with a painstaking honesty, and Lesley Sharp is a scene stealer as Colin’s mother, especially during that dinner scene which is unequivocally the best moment of the entire film. 

There is no question that Pillion is not designed to deliver enjoyment or entertainment, and its fearlessness of instantly diving head first into the world of BDSM is going to divide viewers, but what Harry Lighton has accomplished with the film is truly unique and powerful filmmaking. Staying away from negative stereotypes and finding an authenticity at every turn in the screenplay, the exploration of love and BDSM relationships is unflinching and honest, fuelled by some of the hottest sex scenes you will see captured on camera this year and the wonderful pairing of Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård. Challenging viewer’s expectations and preconceived notions at every turn, Pillion’s examination of love and relationships is necessarily uncomfortable, explicit and intimate that paired with the dominating performance of Alexander Skarsgård and beautiful confidence in Harry Melling’s performance, ensures that this is one romance film unlike anything audiences have ever seen before.