‘Pillion’ Is An Exhaust-ing Ride 

For his solo debut film, writer and director Harry Lighton brought leather and biker gays to the big screen, but forgot to mention a safe word. 

“Pillion” forces the viewer into the same position as its submissive and inexperienced leading character Colin (Harry Melling) while the narrative follows Ray’s (Alexander Skarsgård) mysterious and dominant style.  

When the standoffish Colin meets the arresting Ray at a pub, his life quickly turns from timid to brazen. Alongside the two’s budding relationship, Colin grapples with his mother’s (Lesley Sharp) terminal illness. 

Joining the audience at the AMC NEWCITY 14 for the film’s Chicago premiere, Lighton (“Wren Boys,” “Leash”) and Melling (“The Pale Blue Eye,” “The Queen’s Gambit”) offered a brief introduction and post-screening Q&A.

During the introduction, Lighton told the audience he wanted the film to be accessible to those new to the biker, leather and Dom/Sub communities while offering accurate representation of those in it. Lighton also said he wanted to invite people from those communities to partake in the viewing of the film, but the screening’s audience severely lacked women and people of color.

“Pillion” portrays BDSM on screen as if it’s something exclusive to white people, yet begs to be inclusive. 

While the story follows an underrepresented community, “Pillion” fails in its underwhelming attempts at accessibility and sexual inclusivity by solely centering the leather and biker community’s white queer men.

Colin’s sexual inexperience offered the opportunity for an in-depth exploration of Dom/Sub relationships, but the film didn’t allow for open conversations discussing his dynamic with Ray. Within the first 15 minutes of the film, Colin is licking Ray’s dirty boot in a random alleyway, less than 24 hours after meeting him. The scene values shock over substance and continues to follow the same formula throughout. 

The chemistry in intimate scenes between Melling and Skarsgård (“True Blood,” “Big Little Lies”) was palpable as they bounced off each other, edging the line between cinematic and outright pornographic. 

Both Lighton and Melling said they wanted to honor the people they were depicting without tokenizing them, although Melling may have been too anal in his characterization of Colin, leading to a dull, one-dimensional role. 

Toward the end of the film, Colin leans into his brattier side, which slightly alters his character arc but remains stagnant by the ending scene. This is the only moment within “Pillion” offering any semblance of character development, but it’s denied at the climax. 

Perhaps “Pillion” will dominate theaters Feb. 20.