Once a week - it could be nice.

Continuing my trip up Empire's top 20 films of 2025

#10 :  Pillion

Yes, Pillion is a kinky dom-com in which Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling wrestle in assless lycra, get frisky at a Picturehouse (the sadly now-closed one in Bromley, film location fans), and don their fair share of leathers and chains. But Harry Lighton's remarkably assured directorial debut is also a brilliantly observed study in consent and connection, in the discovery of community and the path that creates to the actualisation of the self, and in not only how hard it can be to set boundaries but also how hard it can be to stick to them. Finding pathos amid all the PVC, Lighton's unconventional love story is as much about baring souls as baring butts, and all the more glorious for it.

I've heard a lot of people be very nice about this, but I'm not convinced it's one I'd have chosen to watch under normal circumstances. 

Colin (Harry Melling - a loooong way from Dudley Dursley here) is a gay man who lives with his parents, who are very accepting of Colin's sexuality (often embarrassingly so) but their acceptance doesn't help Colin sort his life out in any way. Fortunately for him, he meets Ray (Alexander Skarsgård) who has some very specific ideas about what Colin could be doing.

The flim is about finding yourself and finding your place, how others may struggle to accept it and how you deal with that. Empire is 100% correct when it describes this as an "unconventional love story" and it really makes you think about how love and affection can be demonstrated in different ways. What works for some is very much not going to work for others but whilst you shouldn't judge, you also shouldn't blindly accept - and it never hurts to also consider whether your own relationship is working. However, whilst watching the film, I had no clue how it was going to end and that gave me some trepidation - and obviously I'm not going to tell you what happens (but I was pleased with the resolution).

The story develops really nicely across the film and it's also beautifully shot (with some really beautiful lighting) - for Harry Lighton's directorial debut, it's an impressively mature piece of work and I'm interested to see what he does next.

Harry Melling is very good in this - he has a journey to go on which is very much not without its trials and he takes us along with him well and you really feel for him at times. Alexander Skarsgård has a somewhat harsher personality to portray (and is, at times, positively mean) but also manages to convey a certain vulnerability or damage somewhere in there.

I have mixed feelings on "only actors who are <X> can portray <X> on screen" but I have to admit to being curious as to the sexuality of the two main actors. I was pretty sure Alexander was straight, but had no clue about Harry - and I was somewhat impressed these days that whilst Google confirms Alexander is married with a kid (so probably straight!), it isn't entirely sure about Harry either. Apparently he was spotted holding hands with Patsy Ferran once and that seems to be as much as anyone has to go on - I also learned that he's the grandson of Patrick Troughton (the second Doctor Who). 

There isn't a huge supporting cast - Lesley Sharp is Harry's mum and she's always good value (and she deploys the C word to great effect) and Douglas Hodge (who has been in millions of things but I didn't recognise him) plays well against her as Harry's dad - they both want to be supportive but they don't have a clue as to what's going on, so they're obviously going to take the opportunity to worry. Jake Shears (from Scissor Sisters) also appears in a small part, but it's nicely done.

One final thing which I'm not sure is entirely necessary but I feel the need to mention that, whilst I wouldn't quite go as far as calling the film explicit, it's fair to say it leaves little to the imagination - it's probably not one to watch with the kids or the parents.

To my surprise, I reckon this could the film which has held my attention best on the list so far - yes, there were scenes I could have lived without (I'm not going to be able to erase the assless lycra from my mind for a bit) but overall it had a decent story to tell which showed interesting character development, was very engaging whilst being surprisingly tender and it was beautiful to look at. It won't be for everyone but if you fancy it, then it's available to stream on Sky or to rent in all the usual places.

#11 - Maybe style over substance?