“Pillion”, which won the Best Screenplay award when it was shown in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival early in last year, is an alternatively amusing and fascinating drama about sexual maturity. Following a plain lad who comes to learn a lot about his sexuality via an unlikely lover of his, the movie explores those tricky matters of sex and desire, and the result is more thoughtful and poignant than expected. 

At the beginning, we are introduced to a young gay man named Colin (Harry Melling). He is openly gay, and his parents are actually willing to find any suitable boyfriend for him, but, like many other young men around his age, he is not so sure about what he exactly wants and desires. After singing several songs along with his friends at a local bar, he has a blind date with some guy there, but it is clear that they do not click that well with each other despite being nice and cordial to each other.

However, someone else begins to draw Colin’s attention, and that is a handsome biker named Ray (Alexander Skarsgård). Right from when they come across each other, something instantly clicks between them even though they do not interact much with each other on the surface, and, what do you know, Colin comes to have a quick sexual encounter with Ray not long after that.

Ray turns out to have a specific sexual taste. He gets aroused by being sexually dominant, and, to his little surprise, Colin discovers that he is actually quite willing to do whatever Ray wants. During their first sexual encounter, Ray quickly takes the role of master, and Colin cannot help but become excited about that being Ray’s submissive sex partner.

And that is just the beginning of their kinky romantic relationship. Ray subsequently allows Colin into his flat, but he also strictly reminds Colin of who the boss is. He has Colin do several domestic stuffs including cooking for him, and he also has a rather intense physical moment with Colin just for another sexual fun for them. In addition, they begin to hang around with several biker gay couples not so different from them, and it does not take much time for Colin to become more like one of them. Besides often being on the pillion of Ray’s motorcycle, he shaves his head, and he also wears a metal necklace with a lock to complement Ray’s accessory key.  

  Because their son is quite happier than before, Colin’s parents do not interfere with whatever is going on between him and Ray, but they cannot help but become concerned at times for understandable reasons. For example, Ray has never told that much about himself to Colin while being often cold and distant to Colin, and Colin’s parents, who have earnestly built their loving relationship together for many years, do not feel fine about that. When Colin manages to have Ray have a lunch with his parents, they try to be nice to Ray as much as possible, but then the mood becomes quite awkward between them and Ray as Colin’s mother throws some inconvenient questions.

Nevertheless, the screenplay by director/writer Harrty Lighton, which is based on Adam Mars-Jones’ novel “Box Hill”, sticks to its non-judgmental attitude while focusing more on Colin’s growing attachment and dependence on Ray. Despite his frequently aloof attitude, Ray can sometimes be a bit nicer to Colin, and Colin appreciates that – especially when Ray holds a little nice event for them and their fellow gay couples on Colin’s birthday.

The movie does not hesitate to delve more into the sexual aspects of Colin’s relationship with Ray, and you may be amused a bit by when they and several other fellow gay couples have a sort of orgy at some remote place. We see a lot of carnal dominance and submission across the screen, and this will remind you of how one’s specific sexuality can actually look funny to others.  

 It goes without saying that Colin comes to want more from his sex partner than before, and that is where their situation becomes more intense than before. While he can be a little more flexible about what Colin wants from him, Ray has certain limits he cannot possibly overcome, and there is a brief but revealing wordless moment when he suddenly and achingly realizes that he is not holding the power over his relationship with Colin now.

This compelling power dynamics between Colin and Ray along the story is illustrated with vivid and realistic details to observe, and the two lead actors are utterly convincing as their characters pull or push each other throughout the film. Harry Melling, who seems to be on the way of becoming another wonderful actor nurtured by the Harry Potter movies besides Daniel Radcliffe and Robert Pattinson, is convincing his character’s gradual emotional maturation, and his sensitive acting is flawlessly complemented by Alexander Skarsgård, who brings a lot of sexiness and charisma to his rather elusive character.

Overall, “Pillion”, which is incidentally released as “Please Have Me on Your Backseat” in South Korean theaters, is worthwhile to watch for its witty and thoughtful handling of its main subject, and it somehow made me reflect a bit on my rather messy sex life during last 10 years, which can incidentally be a gay version of “The Worst Person in the World” (2021) in my humble opinion. I had a fair share of discontent and disappointment as getting mingled with one dude after another, but I came to learn more about my own sexual desire and yearning at least, and that is why I smiled and then was touched a bit as observing Colin during the last scene of the film. Well, he does know what he really wants now, doesn’t he?