Review of the film Pillion by Harry Lighton – a sentimental education with a drop-dead gorgeous gay Alexander Skarsgård
For his first feature film, director Harry Lighton makes a strong impact with Pillion. The pitch is undeniably very appealing for any gay since it promises the meeting of a shy young man who will experience his first great romance with a man, a biker gang leader and dominator, who will initiate him into submission. And it is Alexander Skarsgård who plays the dom!
A singular duo: Colin and Ray
The shy boy is Colin (Harry Melling). He is actually a little more than shy. He seems completely in his own world, a bit autistic, lost, not very socially comfortable. He is like an old bachelor before his time and plays in a somewhat folkloric music group with a little costume. He still lives with his parents, doesn’t have many friends and has a limited social life… and one can guess that he has little or no experience with men. What a surprise when he senses an opening with Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), a magnificent and ultra-charismatic man. But Ray is not like the others. He is an ultra macho dominator who is only looking for a submissive. For him the mind is more important than physical beauty. And he sees in Colin a potential for docility.
An iconic role for Alexander Skarsgård
What an iconic role for Alexander Skarsgård who has never been so beautiful on screen. He and the director go all in and the magnificent blond actor looks like the ultimate embodiment of a deviant Prince as imagined by Tom of Finland. In every shot, his beauty and authority radiate from the screen. Impossible not to burn with desire or be disturbed by him. And the dialogues play several times at winking at this unreal beauty which strongly contrasts with Colin’s ordinary and unassertive appearance.
A sentimental education above all
The film surprises, it is not what one might have imagined – a destructive and kinky gay passion with a domination/submission backdrop. Pillion is above all the story of a sentimental education. Colin, inexperienced, will discover love in a singular way at the same time as his attraction to rather cerebral BDSM practices. Ray will be his first, his initiator, leading him to understand through their relationship what he likes, what he dislikes, how far he is willing to go.
An improbable and endearing couple
The whole appeals for its improbable couple, for its dive without judgment into the intimacy of a budding couple where the dominant/submissive relationship is central. Ray is a total macho, a strict, demanding, unfathomable man. For him being a dominator is not just a bubble of fun from time to time. He lives as a dominator and never leaves his role. He spends his free time with a small group of biker friends where other dominators have their designated submissive.
The viewer adopts Colin’s gaze and dives with him into his blazing passion for Ray, a man about whom he ultimately knows very little. We know that he has money, that he doesn’t like to talk much and that he likes to be obeyed in intimacy but otherwise he remains very taciturn and secretive.
BDSM and intimacy: a respectful approach
Dominant-submissive relationships and BDSM can have this magical aspect that makes reality alter when you live them, like the sensation of being introduced into another world, both highly coded and cathartic, liberating. It is evident that the director knows the subject well and treats it with respect and tenderness. We do not fall into the sordid, there are many cute and funny breaths, playing on the contrast between these two main characters, their so opposite worlds, with some really successful situational comedy scenes.
A possible love?
But is Ray really a man one can fall in love with? Is he capable of loving? Can Colin hope to become his lover as well as his submissive? This is the little suspense of the film which will ultimately turn out to be more the portrait of the rise of a submissive (the last part, which may evoke Clouzot’s cult film The Prisoner, shows the flaws and limits of the subjugating Ray).
A singular and striking film
Very beautifully directed, highly endearing and profoundly unique, Pillion is a little independent gem that will leave a mark in Alexander Skarsgård’s filmography and will certainly touch an audience curious to discover relationships outside the frame.
Film presented in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival 2025
No French release date yet, potential screenings in most LGBT Film Festivals
I found the portrayal of Colin intriguing, especially how his shy and somewhat isolated nature contrasts with Ray’s dominant charisma. It seems like the film explores a complex dynamic beyond just romance, which makes it feel more genuine and layered.