If you thought queer cinema had already pushed every boundary imaginable, think again.
Landing in New Zealand cinemas tomorrow, Pillion is a darkly funny, provocative and surprisingly tender exploration of love, power and identity that might just be the most mainstream depiction of gay BDSM ever to hit the big screen.
Directed by Harry Lighton and based on Adam Mars-Jones’ novel Box Hill, the film follows Colin, a timid wallflower drifting through life with little sense of direction. That all changes when he meets Ray — the brooding, impossibly handsome member of a motorbike club — who sweeps Colin into a world of rules, discipline and devotion when he takes him on as his submissive.
What follows is a queer coming-of-age story like no other.
A Love Story in Leather
At its heart, Pillion is a relationship film — albeit one wrapped in biker jackets and laced with kink.
Harry Melling (best known for The Queen’s Gambit and The Pale Blue Eye) delivers an outstanding performance as Colin, balancing wry British underdog humour with a sensitive portrayal of a character whose role as a submissive ultimately becomes a catalyst for personal growth.
Melling’s Colin begins as painfully passive, drifting through life under the watchful eye of his well-meaning but overbearing mother (played brilliantly by Lesley Sharp). But as he enters Ray’s world — cooking, cleaning, obeying rules and learning the dynamics of submission — something unexpected happens: Colin begins to blossom.
The result is a performance that is both deeply funny and quietly moving.
Opposite him, Alexander Skarsgård is magnetic as Ray — brooding, tense and seriously sexy as the dominant biker who pulls Colin into this new universe. Ray acts as both guide and mystery, revealing little about himself while introducing Colin to a tight-knit community of queer bikers.
For Skarsgård, the story is ultimately about love.
“In many ways it is a love story, especially from Colin’s point of view,” he says. “It was a relationship story unlike anything I’d ever read before.”
Kink With Heart
What makes Pillion so fascinating is the way it approaches BDSM.
Rather than sensationalising kink, the film explores the romantic and emotional dynamics within power exchange relationships, acknowledging both their tenderness and their contradictions.
Director Harry Lighton describes the film as an exploration of unconventional intimacy.
“I wanted to show the capacity for contradictions in unconventional relationships — the brutality and tenderness.”
The film’s title itself hints at that dynamic. In biker culture, a “pillion” is the passenger seat on a motorbike — and the rider who sits there. Within the context of gay biker culture, the term carries an added submissive connotation.
That layered meaning becomes central to Colin’s journey.
Real Bikers, Real Community
Authenticity was key to the film’s world-building.
Lighton spent time researching with members of the Gay Bikers Motorcycle Club, even attending their annual gathering and riding pillion on their bikes to better understand the culture.
What he discovered surprised him.
“The club isn’t centred on sex at all,” he explains. “It’s just a community for gay bikers that sometimes spans sexual subcultures.”
Many members of the club ended up appearing in the film, bringing their lived experiences — and plenty of leather — to the screen.
Funny, Bold and Unexpected
Despite its explicit themes, Pillion is often laugh-out-loud funny, blending clever, dark British humour with moments of genuine warmth.
When actor Harry Melling first read the script, he was struck by how Lighton balanced extremes.
“You’d go from a very wholesome family dinner, then crash into something that’s really quite out there,” he says. “That constant to-and-fro between those extremes was brilliant.”
And while the film dives headfirst into a world of leather and rules, it never loses sight of the emotional core of the story: a young man trying to figure out who he is.
A Landmark for Queer Cinema
While queer cinema has explored kink before, Pillion feels different.
By pairing its provocative premise with humour, vulnerability and genuine romance, the film brings a nuanced portrayal of gay BDSM into a more mainstream cinematic space than ever before.
It’s daring, surprising and unexpectedly heartfelt. And it’s guaranteed to spark conversation.
As Skarsgård cheekily summarises the film’s essence: “Lube, sweat and leather.”
So gentlemen, start your engines!
Pillion opens in New Zealand cinemas tomorrow.
