New images have finally been unveiled of Alexander Skarsgård and Henry Melling in their gay BDSM romance, Pillion.
Harry Lighton (Wren Boys) makes his feature debut with the highly-anticipated drama, which chronicles the romance between Colin, a “weedy wallflower letting life pass him by,” and Ray, the “impossibly handsome leader of a motorbike club” he becomes the submissive to.
Pillion’s official synopsis reads: “Ray uproots Colin from his dreary suburban life, introducing him to a community of kinky, queer bikers and taking all sorts of virginities along the way.
“But as Colin steps deeper into Ray’s world of rules and mysteries, he begins to question whether the life of a 24/7 submissive is for him. Has he found his calling, or simply swapped one form of suffocation for another?”
Melling, known for his performance as Dudley Dursley in that wizarding franchise and Harry Baltic in The Queen’s Gambit, stars as Colin, while Ray is played by the True Blood and Big Little Lies icon.
Until now, only one image from the film had been released – Skarsgård striding down the street in full leather, while Melling’s character gazes at him with a mix of admiration, lust and submission.
Now, Team Picturehouse have unveiled new stills (via the latest issue of Picturehouse Recommends): one captures Skarsgård fixing Melling with a smouldering stare, while another shows Melling at night clutching a blonde miniature dachshund.
Eagle-eyed fans might've caught a glimpse in the newest issue of Picturehouse Recommends (on stand now!), but here's an exclusive new look at Pillion, premiering at @BFI's #LFF before hitting screens on 28 Nov. pic.twitter.com/8Pq0z4hQ91
— Team Picturehouse (@picturehouses) September 9, 2025
Pillion premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it won Best Screenplay and the Palm Dog, and earned nominations for both the Caméra d’Or and Queer Palm.
Since then, it has garnered universal acclaim, holding a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising the leads’ performances, Lighton’s bold direction and its unexpectedly tender love story.
In The Guardian’s review, writer Peter Bradshaw said Lighton has “created something funny and touching and alarming – like a cross between Alan Bennett and Tom of Finland with perhaps a tiny smidgen of what could be called a BDSM Wallace and Gromit.”
“It’s basically what Fifty Shades of Grey should have been,” he continued (we’re listening!), before revealing a scene in which Ray “orders Colin to meet him behind Primark at 5pm for a blowjob”.
Variety described the film as having “kinky sex, BDSM Alexander Skarsgård and gimp masks” in their headline, while The Hollywood Reporter said Pillion “is less about the shock factor of some very graphic gay kink than the nuances of love, desire and mutual needs within a sub/dom relationship”.
The same publication noted that Ray and Colin’s first sex scene is “less than stellar” as a result of the latter’s lack of experience. Other scenes they revealed include Colin “knitted out in ass-less wrestling gear” while wrestling Ray on the floor, being instructed to wear a butt plug and “getting vigorously plowed on a table”.
THR also said Pillion is “full of penises”, questioned whether or not they’re prosthetics, and ultimately praised the film as a “cheeky delight” and “unique queer love story”. Finally, Vanity Fair reported that Pillion “comes complete with orgies, cock rings and boot-licking”.
Based on the novel Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones, Pillion also stars Douglas Hodge as Pete, Lesley Sharp as Peggy, Anthony Welsh as Darren and Scissor Sisters star Jake Shears as Kevin, another sub.
It will be released theatrically in the UK by Picturehouse on 28 November.