MOVIE | Pillion trailer – Traffic warden Colin lives a small, carefully ordered life with his parents, Peggy and Pete, until Ray – the charismatic leader of a gay biker gang – claims him as his submissive.
Drawn into Ray’s world of leather, ritual, and unspoken codes, Colin awakens to intoxicating new dimensions of desire and belonging. But as devotion blurs into obsession, he faces an unsettling reckoning: how much of himself can he surrender before there’s nothing left to give?
After winning Best Screenplay at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, along with the Palm Dog for Mutt Moment and nominations for the Caméra d’Or and Queer Palm, writer-director Harry Lighton delivers one of this year’s most audacious explorations of power and intimacy.
Transgressive, darkly funny, and surprisingly tender, Pillion arrives with universal critical acclaim (100% on Rotten Tomatoes) and standout performances from Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling that challenge romantic conventions.
Adapted from Adam Mars-Jones‘ revered 2020 novel Box Hill, Lighton transports the story from the 1970s to present-day outer-London, crafting a queer love story made for modern times. The film traces the ecstatic and uncomfortable contours of a dom-sub relationship that evolves into something far deeper – a meditation on identity, control, and the unsettling shapes devotion takes when boundaries dissolve.
In his celebrated feature directorial debut, Portsmouth-born British filmmaker Harry Lighton demonstrates remarkable vision and confidence. Lighton spent a weekend with real members of the Gay Bikers Motorcycle Club during research, some of whom later served as advisors and appeared in the film itself.
Pillion showcases career-defining work from both leads. Harry Melling (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Pale Blue Eye, Harry Potter series) brings magnetic vulnerability to Colin, embodying a character who radiates charisma through passivity – learning barbershop singing, mastering wrestling moves and even shaving his head for the role’s physical transformation.
Opposite him, Alexander Skarsgård (Succession, The Northman, Big Little Lies) is mesmerising as Ray, oscillating between seduction and menace, tenderness and manipulation, never allowing the character to settle into anything comfortably legible. The supporting cast includes Lesley Sharp, Douglas Hodge, and Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears in his screen acting debut.
Critics on the festival circuit have praised the film’s refusal to moralise its dark humour laced with emotional intelligence, and its boundary-pushing intimacy that challenges rather than comforts. Pillion provokes, unsettles, and ultimately moves with unexpected grace.
Strap in for the ride of a lifetime with Harry Lighton’s bold debut, Pillion, a leather-clad love story starring Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling, screening in Australian cinemas from Thursday, February 19, 2026.
Media Release – Rialto
Link to Rialto HERE
TV Central Movie Previews HERE
MOVIE | Pillion trailer
