Ray (Alexander „Eric Northman“ Skarsgård) races by in a skin-tight black and wide motorcycle suit on rainy streets through the night. Curly haired Colin (Harry Melling) sings Christmas songs wearing a straw hat and suspenders in a pub with his acapella barbershop quartet. After the performance he watches the leather boys as they play darts in a corner of the pub. Ray is part of the gang. They meet for the first time at the bar. Ray orders chips and nods to Colin. After a confusing moment he understands – and wordlessly pays for the snacks for the gay BDSM biker gang.

It is the beginning of a very precisely told, charming, transgressive and touching love story between two unequal partners. On the one side is the taciturn, dashingly handsome Ray, who speaks to Colin almost exclusively in commands and barely reveals anything about himself. On the other side is Colin, who lives with his parents, doesn’t have much relationship experience, idolizes Ray and enthusiastically embarks on this adventure in submission. With humor that only British comedies can pull off, PILLION makes the most of the contrasts without ridiculing the people or the relationship. When Colin’s mother asks “well, did you kiss?” after the first date, this completely and very amusingly misses the point of what actually happened in the dark alley of the deserted small town on Christmas Eve. On the other hand, she's also kind of right, of course.

Harry Lighton's debut – like the relationship between Ray and Colin – maintains a delicate balance with extreme confidence. Ray isn’t just sexually dominant and cold, he has a real problem with intimacy that becomes more and more clear and at some point reaches infatuated Colin. PILLION gets very close to the cliche that kink can be explained with trauma, and also is about a relationship that works with almost no agreements, safe words, or time outs. Ray’s behavior is sometimes boundary-crossing and then he reacts empathetically and backpedals when need be. Sometimes it’s hard to know how voluntarily Colin is really participating – but it also seems like Colin himself doesn’t really know, at least in the beginning.

But Colin learns, uncovers his own feelings, and sees kinky relationships that work differently on trips with the biker gangs. “I couldn’t handle it without kissing” a submissive biker says to him at the lake, and in the evening the other couples cuddle by the fire. Even though none of the gang members play a big role in the film, they are an essential building block of Colin’s “éducation sentimentale“ which PILLION portrays in an original, sexy, warm-hearted, humorous way.

Hendrike Bake

Translation: Elinor Lewy