Colin and Ray in Pillion will go down in cinematic history as one of the most romantic couples to grace the silver screen.
Harry Lighton’s feature directorial debut is what Fifty Shades of Grey so desperately wanted to be: an “erotic comedy drama”. The main glaring difference is that Pillion is actually good, but with a movie like Fifty Shades of Grey, they didn’t have much to compete with.
Based on the 2020 novel “Box Hill” by Adam Mars-Jones, Pillion finds mild-mannered Colin (Harry Melling) at a roadblock in life. As he goes through a life crisis, he meets ruggedly handsome and mysterious biker Ray (Alexander Skarsgård) and the two embark on a sub-dom relationship that makes for a surprisingly romantic story.
More heteronormative-leaning audiences may find Pillion shocking and maybe even offensive, but as the definition of traditional romance and conventional relationships begins to dismantle, Pillion thoughtfully opens up audiences to a different kind of love — and no butt plug is required.
Many of the LGBTQ community have known of sub-dom relationships like that of Colin and Ray since the beginning of time. It’s part of queer culture, and compared to Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco, Pillion is a G-rated Disney romp.
Lighton handles what could have been an exploitative take on queerness and makes it less about the BDSM of it all and more about Colin’s “sexistensial” exploration of self. His best quality is that he has “an aptitude for devotion,” which he slowly discovers through his relationship with Ray.
Through a non-heteronormative relationship and a Tom of Finlandian lens, Pillion mines the dynamics of Colin and Ray’s relationship. Ray enforces his demands upon his sub, Colin, but it’s not abusive nor toxic. Instead, Lighton even-handedly, and, at times, comedically, paints a portrait of love, romance, and most importantly, consent. Pillion is a committed look at what happens when a person who finds joy in catering to the needs of others finds a counterpart who finds joy in being taken care of. The result is something… magical.
The film sidesteps queer cinema tropes with Colin’s delightfully supportive parents (played by the charming Lesley Sharp and Douglas Hodge), no dramatic “coming-out moment”, and instead of oppressing queer narratives, it celebrates the LGBTQ community in a time when they are being pushed further into the margins.
Feeling safe in a community of like-minded folks, Colin and Ray’s romantic journey unapologetically unfolds — particularly during a getaway in the woods that echoes what you might experience in the LGBTQ vacation destination Guerneville and Russian River in Sonoma County.
Colin and his fellow subs are bent over in assless chaps, awaiting to get some lovin’ from their doms. While Colin awaits Ray, we see another dom daddy rim his “pillion” played by Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, who admitted to Colin his adoration for Ray. As Colin witnesses what might be considered infidelity in the hetero world, it quickly shifts and becomes a very hot — and romantic scene when Ray gives Colin a birthday gift: fucking missionary-style for the first time. It’s a heartwarming moment that will make you believe in life after love.
Pillion is ultimately a story about being loved and wanting to be loved — and sometimes that love requires an assless wrestling singlet.
