Sealed with a kiss! Alexander Skarsgard felt the love during an electric seven-minute standing ovation for his Cannes film Pilion, and returned it two-fold with a warm embrace and by planting a wet one on the cheek of a smiling Pedro Pascal who was on his feet.
The directorial debut of Harry Lighton had its world premiere Sunday morning inside Salle Debussy, and the crowd — filled with guests like Eddington star Pascal, The Substance filmmaker Coralie Fargeat and Babygirl David Hinojosa — lapped up the sexy, BDSM-themed dramedy. The Un Certain Regard selection centers on Colin, a shy London lad played by Harry Melling, who encounters the smoldering and charismatic leader of a motorcycle club named Ray, Skarsgard, on Christmas Eve at a local pub. After a steamy oral sex session in an alleyway, Ray takes Colin under his wing by making Colin his submissive as they get tangled up in a relationship built around power dynamics.
In his review, The Hollywood Reporter’s chief film critic David Rooney praised Lighton’s debut for how delicately it presents the film’s sexually-charged themes while also giving allowing Colin to have an arc and maintain his humanity. It’s also very funny.
“Both Melling and Skarsgard show an intimate understanding of how the power dynamic between their characters works, but what gives Pillion its kick is the friction sparked when Colin starts wanting more,” writes Rooney. “Melling conveys the paradoxical elevation of Colin’s low self-esteem through the subservient relationship with an appealing pluckiness. He neither pleads nor demands, merely stating his wishes with a firmness that matches Ray’s refusals.”
Also in Rooney’s review, he explains the meaning behind the word pillion: “The word ‘pillion,’ more commonly used in Britain than the U.S., refers to the seat occupied by the passenger riding behind the driver on a motorcycle. Also known in queer parlance as a bottom.” It’s also worth pointing out that Skarsgard’s character sports an extra large pierced prosthetic, adding another high-profile example of Hollywood’s prosthetic obsession as of late.
During his film’s introduction, Lighton, who admitted to having some nerves in presenting his first film at Cannes, said he hoped the film made the audience laugh, think and a little “horny.” Helping accomplish the latter, Skarsgard turned up on stage in some tight black leather pants. His ensemble choice got a shout out from Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux prior to the screening, prompting Skarsgard to turn around and shake his backside.
The 2025 Cannes Film Festival continues through May 24.
