The definition of pillion is a seat for a passenger behind a motorcyclist.
More than just a new vocabulary word, the term pillion provides the film’s blueprint for emotion. To ride pillion means sitting behind, following and trusting their own safety to someone else – in the new film “Pillion,” that trust becomes both intimately tender and uncomfortable.
Marketed loosely as a light-hearted “dom-com,” “Pillion” provokes both joy and discomfort, everything a real love story requires. The film follows Colin, played by Harry Melling (Harry Potter Franchise) as he meets Ray, played by Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood), and subsequently forms a dominant/submissive relationship with him.
From the moment Colin and Ray meet, the film draws its audience into the pair’s world of exploration contained in a South London suburb with humor and friskiness. The couple’s dynamic feels playfully depicted in their symbolic choice of pet dogs, with Colin’s wiener dog and Ray’s rottweiler, which they walk together on their first ‘date.’ The pair’s wardrobe choices are also poked fun at, with Colin attempting to match Ray’s motorcycle get-up with his father’s old leather jacket.
Melling’s performance as Colin becomes the focal point audiences attach to. His doe-eyed vulnerability sells the submissive and sympathetic aspects of Colin’s character and his role in the relationship without going overboard into parody. Lines of dialogue such as “What do I get if I pass?” and “He says I have an aptitude for devotion” are delivered with aching sincerity, revealing a man searching for purpose in a world that reminds him daily of his smallness. As a parking enforcement officer, Colin faces casual abuse and constant offence, making Ray’s rigidity and earned affection feel like structure instead of punishment.
Opposite to him, Skarsgård’s Ray feels magnetic and mysterious. His dominance over Colin takes on an air of casual certainty, as if he’s done this every day of his life. His stoic demeanor remains constant, until spending more time with Colin reveals an inner affectionate side he attempts to suppress. Melling and Skarsgård’s chemistry and tension becomes palpable and even more exaggerated when their very first kiss takes place at the end of the film.
Despite the humor, “Pillion” remains an enjoyable, yet hard watch. The viewer’s constantly tested discomfort turns into heartache for Colin, as the effects of their relationship start to show. When questioned by Colin’s mother on his treatment of her son, Ray simply says, “It’s not for you to like.” As if directed at the viewer, the film questions the origins of their discomfort, whether it is rooted in concern for Colin or plain unfamiliarity with their dynamic.
The final scene, in which Colin sings Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile,” lands with painful heartache. The lyrics, “smile though your heart is aching” depicts Colin’s state, until he regains his identity and power previously subdued by Ray.
Like the creak of Ray’s leather bodysuit as he moves, the discomfort “Pillion” provokes proves impossible to ignore. Yet, the film remains disarmingly entertaining. A refreshing love story told from the passenger seat, “Pillion” gives audiences new perspectives and questions of what love should look like.
4 motorcycles out of 5
