Pillion: Love Where You Least Expect It

What’s the difference between day and night? The stark contrast of light versus dark? North and south? But, what are their similarities? Do these pairs actually share anything? These are some of the questions I had in mind while watching Harry Lighton’s directorial debut, Pillion (2026). Starring Harry Melling as Colin and Alexander Skarsgård as Ray, we follow the pair’s tumultuous, yet gentle journey to finding love in places and things least expected.

Harry Melling as Colin, and Alexander Skarsgård as Ray in Pillion

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I was pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming amount of chemistry between Melling and Skarsgård. Just an FYI, Alexander Skarsgård is my absolute favorite actor of all time. He has an innate power of seamlessly blending chemistries with a co-star as well as the rest of the cast. While I haven’t seen much of Melling’s work, he carried Colin, an awkward, gay 30-something, so delicately and timidly, as was written. But he carried that weight confidently, which is what truly worked with Skarsgård’s Ray, the stone-faced, leather-suited, motorcycle club member. The two could not be more opposite in character, but that’s what made it work. It is when Colin decides he’s absolutely enthralled in Ray’s enigmatic nature, that he realizes Ray comes with a few terms and conditions: Ray was to be the dom, and Colin to be the sub.

When asked about the film, Skarsgård aptly called it a “dom-com”. Perfectly named. BDSM and kink in the queer community has been around for centuries, but in America its prevalence began post-World War II in the 1940s alongside motorcycle culture. Being gay was considered a mental illness at that time, being a part of a motorcycle gang meant you were non-conformist in a conformist country. Born from the beautiful fusing of these two things is what is now called “gay leather subculture”. This broke all of the normative rules society legally required people to follow. And the rule breaking kept on growing and the culture kept spreading. In fact, it is this community that provided first responders to the HIV/AIDS crisis back in the day.

Gay leather subculture has been represented through fashion and art for so long now. The leather outfits with silver trinkets you and I wear on a night out with our friends are very much inspired by this community, whether or not we knew it before hand. Even in artistry, it has been kept alive. Finnish artist Tom of Finland is known for his erotic, hypermasculine sketches designed to empower gay men.

While it is something that a vastly misunderstood and stigmatized, gay leather subculture has fostered a loving, consenting community dedicated to helping those around them understand themselves better and more freely. What truly brought the film to life was the fact that real gay bikers were a part of the making and shaping of the film. This type of authentic representation matters. We are often made uncomfortable by the things we don’t understand, but that doesn’t have to mean that those things are wrong. It’s 2026, and people are still not as open-minded and as progressive as they claim to be. If you have the patience to be as such, you will come to understand that there are different, “unconventional” communities amidst you. Key word: community. To have community, is to be loved in some form or the other. It does not have to be understood by all. Pillion delivers exactly this with stunning force and tender sentiment, all wrapped into one.

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Alexander Skarsgård as Ray in Pillion

Lastly, I’d love to touch on Nick Morris’ stunning cinematography. The way he is able to deliver Colin’s absolute adoration for Ray is wonderful. We see slow scenes of Colin’s hands slowly tracing Ray’s leather biking gear while coasting down the highway at top speeds. Taking the time to feel each angle of the man he loves in a time where things are moving all too fast in the world. To me, that is the perfect embodiment of Colin’s devotion. On the contrary, Ray isn’t caught doing any of the things that Colin is. While it’s obvious that Ray considers Colin (and we all know that to be considered is to be loved), he is always straigt-to-the-point with him. Morris’ visuals provide an even clearer image of Ray and Colin’s dynamic.

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Complex, raw, and earnest. Those are the three words I’d used to describe Harry Lighton’s Pillion. And maybe after watching you’ll understand why I asked those questions and the beginning of this article. A film like this is not something that is often released in big chain theaters, but what a privilege it has been to have seen this in one. Out of 5 stars, this gets ★★★★ 1/2 stars from me!

Sources:

Bauer, E. (2022). What is BDSM? Your Queer Guide to Kink, Domination, Bondage, and More. https://www.them.us/story/what-is-bdsm

GBMCC. (2025). October 2025: GBMCC in the movies! "Pillion" Premier. GBMCC. https://www.gbmcc.co.uk/public-gallery/gbmcc-in-the-movies-pillion-premier

King, J. (2025). Meet the real gay bikers and “Kink coordinator” behind Pillion, the most authentic BDSM movie in years. GQ Magazine. https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/meet-the-real-gay-bikers-and-kink-coordinator-behind-pillion-the-most-authentic-bdsm-movie-in-years

Loya Soto, L.V. (2021). How Kink Belongs at Pride. The Pomonan Magazine. https://www.thepomonan.com/lgbtqa-plus?author=60879a4eff22f546a40921e0

National AIDS Memorial HIV Story Project. (2016). Unsung Heroes: The Leather Community of San Francisco honored for World AIDS Day 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA27CM3qER4&list=PL56EVFXpyKY57ahSV4JpcMPHGsfucnQ64