A Pillion is literally a seat for a passenger behind a motorcyclist. I have no idea if it has any specific meaning within the BDSM community, but I suspect that if it didn’t before, it sure will now. Pillion is the perfect way to describe the dominant/submissive relationship within the film. Our hero is a doormat; he worships a creep. But the creep is really, really, really good looking. So there’s that.
And there’s also this weird dynamic by which the submissive clearly WANTS to be dominated. That is the key to understanding this relationship. It is one-sided. And yet, it is also symbiotic. This isn’t a Trump-Epstein situation; these are adult men of free will making free choices. While we may not agree with their choices or make the same ones ourselves, we cannot criticize for lack of free will. In fact, this kind of dominant/submission sexual carnival is -in a way- the ultimate expression of free will. And for that, I applaud it and the film.
Colin (Harry Melling) is a shy gay man living at home with a pushover father and a mother dying of cancer. Harry Melling has advanced beyond his “Dudley” years, but it’s hard to see a huge improvement – his teeth are terrible, his skin is sallow and his eyes are unintentionally comical. He has grown a mop of curly black hair to distract us from his physical shortcomings. I wouldn’t normally go into this kind of detail; how Harry Melling looks is -for the most part- irrelevant and up to Harry Melling. But this is a key part of Pillion. For one fateful Christmas Eve, Colin is in a bar and gets a note from a biker (Alexander Skarsgård), the coolest biker you’ll ever meet, and a guy who is hopelessly out of Colin’s league.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Colin meets Ray in a public place. Without a word, Ray leads Colin to an alley, strips to a gay nightclub look, beckons Colin to hand-wrestle, grinds him to submission, and forces “punishment,” in the form of fellatio. And when Colin isn’t sucking to satisfaction, Ray just has him lick his boot … and weird relationship has begun.
The next day, Colin goes to Ray’s place where Ray invites Colin to make dinner … “go easy on the cheese.” It should be noted that Ray doesn’t look like he has ever indulged in dairy … or carb … or sweets … or, you know, food. Ray is a head taller than Colin. Dudders ain’t exactly a shrimp, but Alexander Skarsgård is 6’4” and it shows. After dinner, it is “bed time.” Ray mostly ignores Colin, but says he can sleep on the floor, so long as he doesn’t snore. Otherwise, it’s the hall. My understanding is that Dudley Do-me here is out of his league and he knows it, but he wants to be
dominated, and he is absolutely taken with the idea of being Ray’s pet. Ray’s stunning attractiveness, no matter how vile his personality, is part of that.
Ten minutes in, I wrote down, “How long until Colin breaks?” How long will we see this nonsense go on before Colin finally stands up for himself. This is the critical question in the film and in the relationship. And while the film was made to give us some insight into BDSM activities and attitudes, what happens next is what gives the film real power. Up to this point, it is all performative voyeurism. “Ooooo, that really happens? I suppose it does.”
Pillion is likely the best BDSM film I’ve ever seen, but that’s damning with faint praise. The film was a bit basic, but gave us a sad moon to root for and let us root him even when we see him making decisions that are counter to his happiness. There’s no way I can recommend this film to everybody. Even those totally cool with, say, “Heated Rivalry” are probably going to find dog-collars, shaved heads, and picnic table submission readiness a bit too out there. And yet, I completely respect this film for what it was and what it tried to do.
There was once a wallflower named Colin
Who wanted to get on with the ballin’
So he found him a king
And did anything
He was asked without even stallin’
Not rated [but, dude, this is borderline gay porn], 106 Minutes
Director: Harry Lighton
Writer: Harry Lighton, Adam Mars-Jones
Genre: Games people play
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Leather daddies
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: If you’re already bugged by LGBTQ+, this won’t help
