Pillion (18)

Filmmaker Harry Lighton, bringing boundless energy to his first feature, has given us a tender 50 Shades of BDSM.

Sweet, shy Colin (Harry Melling) is having a bad time. His mother is terminally ill, his only hobby is barbershop quartet singing with his father, and to top it all, he’s a parking attendant. Colin’s dreary existence changes when he meets the very tall and exceedingly handsome biker Ray (Alexander Skarsgård). Ray propositions him, and before he knows it, Colin’s licking Ray’s boots by the bins next to Primark. Soon Ray is requiring Colin to cook and clean and shop for him, and sleep on the floor like a dog at his house. Colin soon discovers in himself the ecstatic vocation of the sub.

Pillion is a wonderful film that’s heavy with purpose, it also raises questions around the unspoken line between a consensual BDSM relationship and emotional abuse, as well as the true cost of freedom within any romantic relationship and the boundaries we set for ourselves.