#REVIEW: “PILLION”

By Mr. Will Wong

Harry Lighton makes his debut as a Screenwriter and Director in PILLION, and what an accomplished effort this is. A bittersweet queer love story that deserves to be named alongside classics in the genre like Brokeback Mountain, Call Me By Your Name, and how about current global phenomenon Heated Rivalry? The public have spoken and they can’t get enough queer romance.

PILLION, adapted from Adam Mars-Jones’ novel Box Hill, already comes into its theatrical release with tons of acclaim, including a very impressive Best Screenplay score in Cannes last May. This and a litany of nominations this current awards season. We’ve been ready for some time!

At the core of the story are Colin (Harry Melling) and Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), two very unlikely lovers, polar opposites actually, who cross paths. Their whirlwind dom-sub romance begins with an alleyway hookup, that turns into more than they and we could have expected. Colin hands out parking tickets during the day and sings in his dad’s barbershop quartet at night, he’s passive and soft-spoken, sexually inexperienced.  Ray is intentionally mysterious, and we don’t know much about him other than that he’s part of a biker gang.

What begins as a series of spicy hookups, including many firsts for Colin, then leads to a successful connection for the two privately.  Then Ray introduces Colin to the BDSM culture via his social network, which not only makes Colin yearn for him more, he also in ways begins to question what his arrangement with Ray is, and also what he wants in a relationship. Colin‘s ailing mother Peggy (Lesley Sharp) wants Colin to bring this mysterious boyfriend home for dinner, which is customary in courtship. This is met with much uneasiness on Ray‘s part and for the first time this private relationship which seems to be working on the whole, is scrutinized by societal norms.

Make no mistake, PILLION is unconventional, but it IS a love story. It also is a coming-of-age story for both Colin and in ways Ray too, as they are forced to confront what their own limits are when Colin begins to find his footing and assert his needs in this relationship.

Lighton tenderly navigates the subject matter and the love story here delicately, making it so believable and sweet.  But our two leads are the big draw here, with Skarsgård always careful not to give too much away with Ray, really making Colin yearn for him, even if it’s just breadcrumbs he’s been given.  Melling is superb and heartbreaking, really embodying that deep hunger for love in Colin.

Sometimes the most rewarding and insightful moviegoing experiences aren’t about drastic transformations, it’s about smaller, more meaningful realizations too.

Photon Films release PILLION in theatres February 13, 2026.