Pillion

(Spoiler warning--I'm going to run through the entire plot in this review)

Directed by Harry Lighton and based on the novel Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones, Pillion was my most-anticipated film of 2026. And I'm literally so happy that it lived up to--and exceeded--my expectations.

The film, which I would refer to as "the gay BDSM biker film with Alexander Skarsgard", is actually not about Skarsgard's character. It focuses on Colin (Harry Melling), a shy and very sweet man who lives with his parents who are very supportive of the fact that he's gay. They go so far as to set him up with "nice boys" and drive him to dates.

But it turns out that Colin doesn't want a nice boy.

Colin meets Ray (Skarsgard), an intimidatingly handsome biker, at a bar where Colin performs in a barbershop quartet. Ray gives Colin a note with a time and place and when Colin shows up, Ray ushers him to an alley and throat-fucks him, looking mildly annoyed at Colin's lack of ability in the deep-throating arena. When Colin shyly wonders if he might be able to "practice" the skill on Ray, Ray says that he's not around much and leaves. What a lovely first date!

Ray must see something in Colin because not long after, he tells him to pack a bag and picks him up at his parents house (it's a very hilarious scene) and whisks him away to a BDSM playground where...he tells Colin to cook him dinner and then tells Colin to sleep on the rug at the foot of the bed. No sex, no conversation, nothing. While this sort of thing would probably be a nightmare for most people, Colin seems pretty determined and before long, Colin's head is shaved, he's wearing a steel lock around his neck (while Ray wears the key), and he has joined Ray's motorcycle gang of kinksters as one of the subby boys who live to serve their dominant biker masters (fun fact, one of the other subs, Kevin, is played by Jake Shears of the band Scissor Sisters!)

Harry Melling, who plays Colin, makes this movie. He has these beautiful, expressive eyes and whenever Ray treats him roughly, you can see the wonder--the rapture--in his eyes. Melling is the line between Pillion being a joyful film of sexual exploration and Pillion being a sad movie about a man in a borderline abusive relationship. While we never learn Colin's age, it's safe to assume he's in his late 20s or early 30s, which adds some comfort for the audience because even though he's shy and inexperienced, he's not naive or easily manipulated--a fact I think is absolutely critical to this movie. And although Ray is cold, withholding, and intimidating, he isn't violent and he isn't even cruel. He's just offering Colin the only thing he can give, which is a loveless Dom/sub relationship. But it turns out that Colin wants love, in addition to orders, demands, and degradation. 

Folks who aren't in or adjacent to or at least knowledgeable about BDSM and the kink scene may truly struggle with Pillion because it's hard to understand why anyone would want the treatment Colin gets from Ray. Even people into BDSM might not want the treatment Colin gets, but at least we understand the pull of power dynamics. Colin writes a poem to Ray at one point:

Roses are red, violets are blue
Each day at your heel brings me closer to you
Your hand on the throttle, your leathers so tight
I crave your command from morning to night
Your grip is a promise, your gaze a hot flame
Next to you I am nothing, but I'm yours all the same
The pleasure you give, the pain that you bring
I'll take it all, Ray, for you are my king. 

Colin is a romantic. He wants intimacy and love just as much as he wants to be forced to knuckle under and follow instructions to the letter. And the wonderful thing is--he can have both. Just not with Ray, sadly.

Colin's mom, Peggy (played beautifully by Lesley Sharp), is dying of cancer. She's a wonderful mother, despite being a bit overbearing, and she insists that Ray come to Sunday dinner. She ends up challenging Ray, saying "I don't like the way you speak to my son" and Ray challenges her right back, saying "It's not for you to like". This was such an amazing scene because Ray isn't wrong. He points out that even if his and Colin's relationship makes Peggy uncomfortable, it's not for her to tell her son what should make him happy. However, Ray simply cannot read the room. He cannot adjust based on his audience. And he deserves to be pushed back on. Because all of this leads to Colin exerting his own needs more.

After Colin's mom passes away, he has a breakdown while cooking Ray dinner (yes, Ray makes him cook dinner on the day of his mother's funeral...we're starting to see the cracks show in the relationship at this point). In addition to giving in and ordering pizza, Ray invites him to sleep in his bed that night (some girls in my theatre started clapping at this). The problem is that when Colin asks if this can be a more regular thing and perhaps they can even "take a day off" every once in a while, Ray denies him. Colin responds by pushing him, harder and harder. 

After a, frankly, very frightening scene where Colin steals Ray's bike and rides it WITHOUT A HELMET (!!!), Ray relents and gives Colin a day off, where they just hang out like boyfriends, ending with a kiss in the park (Ray NEVER kisses Colin during the entirety of their relationship). Oh, but it's so cruel. We think the men are headed for a happy ending where they find a balance between domination and affection. But it's not to be...because Ray just can't be that guy. What happens is that Ray changes his number and moves without telling Colin--leaving Colin to knock at the door of Ray's empty apartment and talk to the bikers in Ray's gang, who also don't know where he went. 

For all his intimidating airs, Ray proves himself a coward. It's one thing to end a relationship. It's quite another to completely ghost your submissive lover. Ray may be dominant, but he's emotionally weak. But Colin proves himself to be brave at every single turn of the movie. This is a man who sings in public, advocates for what he wants, is not afraid to hop on the back of a motorcycle, and who loves deeply and without reservation. This is a man who is emotionally strong and able to grow.

So, does Colin give up his love of submission after being burned by Ray? ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT! The end of the film finds him filling out a dating/BDSM profile stating his limits ("I won't cut my hair for anyone") and his desires. He meets a handsome football player on a date, which begins with Colin realizing his date's shoe is untied and dropping to the ground to tie it for him. OH MY GOD I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING. 

Pillion enters that pantheon of BDSM movies that are actually good, alongside Secretary, Duke of Burgundy, and Sanctuary. These movies are "good" because they show that BDSM and kink aren't just about whips and chains, but about the mutually consensual give and take of power. And they also show the importance of negotiation. Duke of Burgundy is a particularly good example of this because in that movie, the sub is the one calling the shots and the Dom needs to advocate for her feelings too. 

AND THEY ALL HAVE HAPPY ENDINGS!!! A happy ending to a movie about kink does not involve people giving up their proclivities and becoming "normal", it involves them learning more about who they are and what they need. While we don't find out what happens with Colin and handsome football boy, but we do know that Colin's gonna be ok. His relationship with Ray didn't end in trauma--it ended in growth. 

What an absolutely lovely film, and an important film at that. Representation is crucial, and BDSM isn't abuse, nor is it just some silly slap n' tickle. It's a sexual orientation, and one that is often willfully misunderstood, mocked, or met with ignorant "concern". The powers that be in the United States are pushing us towards sexual regression and repression--attacking queer and trans people at every turn. The irony is that BDSM is all about power too, but it's about power freely given. And that terrifies conservatives and fundie Christians because all they can understand is power taken by force. If power can be negotiated by two consenting adults, if women can have that power over men, if queer people can enjoy that power exchange...where does that leave the misogynist men in charge who want to control women completely, taking away their ability to consent and any freedom or pleasure they might experience? Where does that leave homophobic wretches who want to obliterate queerness from the earth? 

When you have a movie like Pillion, which is a shout of joy and freedom in the face ignorance and hate, you have something very special and very beautiful. 

Grade: A+