Alexander Skarsgård is riding on the edge of love | Pillion (REVIEW) | Projector Shorts - video Dailymotion

Film Brain

Film Brain reviews this daring romantic drama with Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård, a stark and darkly funny look at what people want out of love. And regrets donning a biker jacket.

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00:00Alexander Skarsgård is riding your boundaries in the drama Pillion.

00:04Harry Melling plays a parking inspector who falls for Skarsgård's biker when he sees him in the pub.

00:10They hook up shortly after and Melling becomes part of a submissive relationship,

00:14but Skarsgård's lack of intimacy starts to cause tension in the dynamic.

00:18This is based on Adam Mars-Jones 2020 book Box Hill and is the feature debut of Harry Leighton,

00:24who also did the adaptation which won Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival.

00:29That's not surprising because this is especially confident and bold for a first film.

00:34Pillion has drawn some attention for being quite explicit by the standards of a mainstream film,

00:39especially Melling and Skarsgård's first encounter in a high street alley on Christmas Day.

00:44But that's appropriate for a movie that is very much about boundaries,

00:47with Melling being so shy and inexperienced that he has hardly any at all,

00:51something which Skarsgård takes advantage of given that he's almost completely made of them.

00:55Skarsgård is extremely controlling and wants things done exactly his way, from cooking meals and doing

01:02his chores, to the extent that the relationship crosses into abusive, like the way he makes Melling

01:07sleep on the floor and generally treats him beneath the level of his pet dog.

01:12That intense and mysterious dynamic is something that alarms Melling's parents, Douglas Hodge,

01:16and the terminally ill Leslie Sharp, who gets the highlights of the film when she finally meets

01:20Skarsgård and lets him know exactly what she thinks of him. The relationship between the main

01:25characters is purposefully uncomfortable, and the movie often minds that for dark humour,

01:30like Melling offering Skarsgård a box of chocolates when he's not that kind of guy,

01:35and it's sharply perceptu about power dynamics and what people want out of love.

01:40Skarsgård is all brooding machismo. On the surface, he's incredibly handsome and attractive,

01:45to the point where several people are surprised that Melling has managed to pick up someone like him.

01:50But he's very elusive and puts up all these defences to avoid developing emotional attachment,

01:55to the extent where the rare moments where he lets his guard down feel like victories.

01:59But really, this is Melling's film, as it's entirely from his perspective,

02:03giving an excellent performance of someone who is desperate to be loved, and he's sweet,

02:08puppyish and needy, and ready to conform to what Skarsgård wants him to be.

02:12But over time, his sense of self and what he demands to have in a relationship begins to develop,

02:17and you root for him to stand up for his own needs and satisfaction.

02:20It's a challenging film, but while it feels a little daring and dangerous,

02:24it is an edgy provocation.

02:26This is an intelligent and sensitive look at self-worth in relationships that is ultimately rewarding.

02:32I'm wearing this because Skarsgård wears something almost identical in the film,

02:36but I'm probably not going to wear something so squelchy in the future.

Alexander Skarsgård is riding on the edge of love | Pillion (REVIEW) | Projector Shorts

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