British cinema has boldly entered a new era of kink, with Harry Lighton's directorial debut Pillion emerging as one of the year's most unexpected critical triumphs. Following its celebrated premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, this unconventional romance between a submissive parking attendant and a dominant biker is being hailed as everything Fifty Shades of Grey failed to be.
A Revolutionary Take on BDSM Relationships
The film transports audiences far from the shadowy psychological catacombs typically associated with BDSM, instead offering what might be the sweetest, sexiest, and most tender film you'll encounter this year. Where other productions have sensationalised dominance and submission, Pillion approaches its subject matter with remarkable delicacy and intuition.
Harry Melling delivers a career-defining performance as Colin, a docile parking attendant whose life transforms when he encounters Alexander Skarsgård's quietly commanding Ray. Through Ray, Colin gains entry into the authentic Gay Bikers Motorcycle Club, with real GBMC members appearing alongside the actors throughout the film.
Community and Connection Beyond the Kink
What makes Pillion particularly remarkable is its equal emphasis on community bonding and bondage. The narrative unfolds through countryside camping weekends featuring both bonfire conversations and rows of submissives arranged on picnic tables, prepared for entirely different forms of intercourse.
Loosely adapting Adam Mars-Jones's Seventies-set novel Box Hill, Lighton never scandalises the explicit content while maintaining absolute fidelity to the specificities of this subculture. On the advice of an actual GBMC member, one character even adopts a human pup persona complete with leather dog mask.
At its heart, Pillion explores what lies at the core of every meaningful relationship: the search for true compatibility and an honest alignment of desires. Through Ray, Colin discovers he possesses what he describes as "an aptitude for devotion" - sleeping on the floor at the foot of the bed, wrestling in a leotard with a carefully cut-out ass window, and eating dinner leaning against the wall while the sofa remains reserved for Ray's dog Rosie.
Masterful Performances Elevate the Material
The film's success hinges entirely on the subatomic precision of Melling and Skarsgård's performances. Pillion generates its humour not from the extremity of sexual acts, but from moments like Colin's meek, heartfelt "Thank you" when ordered to lick Ray's boot.
Melling demonstrates that submissiveness doesn't equate to passivity, consistently showing Colin's pleasure, desire, and frustration. Meanwhile, Skarsgård - who appears somewhat comically out of place standing outside Primark in Bromley - ensures that while Ray is severe and sometimes cold, he's never cruel. When the moment demands, his features melt like butter.
The film introduces nuanced conflict through Colin's parents, played by Douglas Hodge and Lesley Sharp. Their concerns stem not from homophobia or disgust at BDSM, but from more complex fears about consent. Ray's retort - "It's not for you to decide that what makes you uncomfortable is bad for your son" - serves as a powerful message to anyone approaching Pillion with intentions to ridicule or debase.
Directed by Harry Lighton and featuring supporting performances from Jake Shears, this 107-minute, Cert 18 film represents a significant achievement in British independent cinema that challenges preconceptions while celebrating the universal search for connection.
