Reel Review Roundup

Pillion (R)

Directed by: Harry Lighton

Starring: Harry Melling, Alexander Skarsgård

Review by: Julian Wright

Rom-coms are getting a much needed shake up at the moment.

Last year, Materialists treated all the whimsical tropes seriously, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey went full mind-bending mode and now Pillion kicks it up another notch with plenty of spice.

Colin (Harry Lighton) is a quiet small-town fellow whose only real social interactions is singing an in a capella group down at the local pub or the occasional blind date his parents have organised for him.

His love life is basically non-existent, until he has a brief dialogue-less encounter one evening at the pub with the tall, hunky, enigmatic, leather-clad biker Ray (Alexander Skarsgård).

Ray passes Colin a brief note with a time and place to meet the next night – which turns out to be a dark and dirty back alley for a quick sexual encounter which requires Colin to be on his knees and licking Ray’s boots.

Not exactly a meet-cute Colin expected but it sparks something in him – he likes it and so he enters into a relationship that puts the DS (domination/submission) in BDSM

There are no whips, chains or cuffs (head back to Fifty Shades of Grey for that stuff), instead, Colin sleeps on the floor, prepares Ray’s meals, does his chores and is his sexual trophy of sorts.

While Colin is discovering a new side to himself and being accepted into a welcoming community of fellow DS-ers, he realises that Ray is getting everything he wants out of this arrangement, but Colin, who begins to miss affection, is not.

How much should one compromise for the person they love?

Pillion is a beautifully performed, refreshing addition to the tired rom-com genre that challenges our idea of traditional romance.

It reinforces that every relationship is different and what works for one couple may not work for another.

As Ray says to Colin’s bewildered mother: “It’s not for you to understand.”

It treats this alternative lifestyle with respect and sensitivity, without shying away from what it can really look like and how erotic it can be, completely unafraid to (tastefully) depict certain acts and dynamics.

One group camping sequence may be confronting for those who have come to this film completely unfamiliar.

But Pillion is about much more than pulling back the curtain – it is also deeply moving (at times, your heart will ache for Colin) with gentle British humour that runs throughout.

Presumably, writers Harry Lighton (who also directs) and Adam Mars-Jones did not want to risk having a singular reason represent an entire community and so Pillion chooses not to dig too deep into the psychology behind why Ray or Colin indulge in this relationship.

So while some may still leave with one burning question left unanswered: what does the sub get out of this?, Pillion is otherwise a thought-provoking, thoroughly entertaining and deeply satisfying story.

Pillion screens as part of Perth Festival Lotterywest Films from February 9 – 15.