BDSM is the hook for gay director Harry Lighton’s “Pillion.” Adapted from Adam Mars-Jones’ novella “Box Hill,” it lays out a relationship between Ray (Alexander Skarsgard), an extremely handsome biker, and Colin (Harrry Melling), a nerdy young man who becomes his sub. The film doesn’t shy away from the subject, but it doesn’t treat it for shock value. The emotions intruding upon Colin and Ray are its true concern.
“Pillion” takes place over the course of a year, starting just before Christmas. A bored Colin goes through the motions during a date set up by his mother (Lesley Sharp), who suffers from cancer. He may have glimpsed Ray earlier, from the back seat of his parents’ car, but when Ray strides into his sight in a bar, he’s taken. After Ray leaves his phone number, Colin heads out on Christmas, meeting for sex in an alley. The seediness excites him, as does Ray’s urge to dominate him. Even though their first “date” does not take place until an hour into “Pillion,” he spends most of his time with Ray, who introduces himself to a club of gay bikers. (They’re played by members of an LGBTQ motorcycle club, not professional actors.) Ray’s not big on expressing his feelings, and he orders Colin around, which the younger man embraces. Colin’s parents, especially his mother, grow suspicious.
To the film’s end, Ray remains mysterious. He describes himself as “discreet.” While he lives alone, that’s all we know about him. He never reveals his job (or any other source of income). Skarsgard lowered his voice for the role, speaking softly. (Although the actor’s Swedish, he portrays Ray with an American accent.) He’s unusually tall. Lighton emphasizes his height with camera angles that make him loom over Colin. “Pillion” drops just enough suggestions to make one wonder about Ray’s life before he met Colin: For example, he plays the piano, and he has tattoos of three women’s names on his chest. He walks into Colin’s life as a fantasy of strong, silent masculinity, and never completely breaks that spell. Skarsgard has always shown a sense of humor about his sex appeal and a willingness to put his body on display. As Ray, he draws on these qualities while pointing towards something deeper and more unspoken, as though the character were acting out a role.
Colin begins from a position just as archetypal. His hobby is singing in a barbershop quartet with his father (Douglas Hodge). Doing so, he looks as uncool as he could get, wearing a straw hat, bowtie, and garish striped suit. He’s very close to his parents, with whom he lives. The film mines a great deal of humor from Colin’s jittery reactions to Ray’s orders. When Melling was 10, he began acting in the “Harry Potter” films. Now 36, he could pass for a man a decade younger.
Lighton decided to alter Mars-Jones’ novella in his adaptation. While the book took place in the ‘70s, the film is set in the present. Colin and Ray simply being a gay couple, at least in London, isn’t transgressive in and of itself. They make out in a park without fear of jeers or violence. Even public sex, which the bikers engage in, is safe. Colin’s parents sincerely accept him, but their attitudes look slightly tryhard. Without realizing it, they’ve absorbed assimilationist attitudes, incorporating Colin’s gayness into their family without realizing their own preconceptions. Their idea of a healthy relationship doesn’t entirely match his own.
“Pillion” seems headed for an unhappy conclusion. Composer Oliver Coates’ score is full of slow, melancholy piano. The lighting is often extremely dark. When Colin first visits Ray’s apartment, it’s completely black. Even the day when they go out in London is wintry. As it introduces Colin, it flirts with the stereotype of the sad, lonely gay man. Despite his parents’ enthusiasm, he’s unhappy with the dating scene.
This mood never overwhelms the film. It could have gone down any number of dark pathways but holds back. Both Colin and Ray emerge as complicated, three-dimensional people, even if the latter holds back. The motorcycle club are supportive, not leather-clad brutes swilling beer and lusting for a brawl. As sexually frank as “Pillion” is, its dive into the push-and-pull of a long-term relationship is more startling.
“Pillion” | Directed by Harry Lighton | A24 | Opens Feb. 6th at the Angelika and AMC Lincoln Square
