Harry Lighton’s debut Pillion (2025), an adaptation of Adam Mars-Jones’ novel Box Hill, shines a light on the gay biker community within the UK. Lighton’s portrayal acts as both an empathetic celebration of the subculture as well as a critique of the issues raised within the practice of BDSM.

The nuanced approach to representing these sexual and romantic practices helps de-stigmatise them but doesn’t blindly glorify them, instead opting to recognise the psychological damage that can be caused when these relationships fall into unhealthy territory. 

When Colin (Harry Melling), a socially awkward gay man, meets the elusive biker, Ray (Alexander Skarsgard), he gets wrapped up in the underbelly of BDSM. The two men enter a strict, dominant and submissive relationship wherein Colin discovers new aspects of himself through his unwavering submission to Ray.

Between the two men, there is an unspoken agreement. Colin cooks, Ray Eats. Colin sleeps on the floor, and Ray sleeps in the bed. Colin stands, Ray sits and so on. On paper, this dynamic is alarming to anyone not immersed in the lifestyle; however, Pillion shows how these relationships can be consensual for both parties, fulfilling, and more common than we realise. 

Prior to shooting, Lighton spent a weekend with members of the Gay Bikers Motorcycle Club, who then went on to act as advisors on the film and act as themselves within Ray’s biker gang. Their involvement brings a much-needed lightness to the film and represents BDSM as a way for these men to unite. They move almost like a wolf pack through various spaces. Via this safety-in-numbers, they unashamedly exist in the public eye despite taboos. 

The majority of the pushback against Colin and Ray’s relationship comes from Colin’s mother, Peggy (Lesley Sharp). Naturally, she is protective of her son and, from a place of care, cannot understand the consensual element of Ray’s apparent “disrespect” towards Colin. This dynamic unveils the external danger that lies within Ray and Colin’s dynamic, whilst also recognising that it’s a relationship type often shamed by the mainstream. 

Pillion opens up an important conversation around kink culture in the gay community, the importance of consent and the judgment that can come from a lack of education on these topics. It does so with humour, but doesn’t shy away from the heaviness that these characters carry. 

Image Credit: Unsplash