Pillion

When barbershop quartet crooner “Colin” (Harry Melling) ends up paying for some crisps in the pub for a biker he doesn’t even know, he immediately becomes smitten. This is despite the fact that the white-leather clad “Ray” (Alexander Skarsgård) barely gave him a second glance, though he did give him a Christmas card with a phone number. “Colin” can hardly contain himself and agrees to “take the dog for a walk” on Christmas Day where we get the gist of just how any relationship between these two men is going to pan out. Indeed, for the remainder of this film we see something ...

There’s a big difference between celebrating an alternative lifestyle and giving license to an abusive relationship, but, sadly, the debut feature from writer-director Harry Lighton doesn’t seem to know the difference. This sexually explicit “romance” (a term I use with measured reservation) follows the experience of Colin (Harry Melling), a shy gay adult who still lives with his parents and has trouble getting dates, after he meets Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), an enigmatic, uber-masculine biker/leatherman with a chiseled physique who looks like he’s just stepped out of the hottest ga...

I respect what this was trying to be but it took a very negative turn as it becomes more clear throughout the movie how under-negotiated and communicated their relationship is, which just ends in an absolute disaster. I made it about 3/4 of the way through the movie in hopes it would resolve and then just googled the ending because it wasn't improving and I was kinda icked out. negotiate kinks and be clear on what you're getting into people!!...

**The subversion of the romantic melodrama**

"Pillion" is the feature debut of British director Harry Lighton, a rather dark comedy-drama that offers a modern adaptation of Adam Mars-Jones's acclaimed novel "Box Hill". Sidestepping the easy tropes of conventional romance, the film delves into the power dynamics and submission within a rarely depicted subculture.

Colin (played by the wonderfully eccentric Harry Melling) is an introverted, somewhat stagnant young man working as a valet parking attendant in a London suburb. He lives with his parents and sings in a barbershop quartet. His mo...