Sightlines · reception
How Pillion was received
2025 · Harry Lighton · Pillion on Sightlines
The arc
It arrived at Cannes 2025 sounding like a provocation — 'the Skarsgård BDSM biker movie' — and within months had flipped into something nobody expected: a beloved, crowd-pleasing romance, Certified Fresh at 99% and embraced as one of the year's warmest films.
What’s debated
The recurring fight is whether Pillion is genuinely radical about kink or a 'dom-com' that makes BDSM cuddly enough for the mainstream — and whether that domestication is a betrayal or exactly the point.
Its footprint
Alexander Skarsgård showing up to the London Film Festival premiere in a backless leather look did more for the film's fame than any trailer — the photos of him petting a dog in it went instantly viral. The film also won Cannes' Palm Dog 'Mutt Moment' for its scene-stealing dachshund, Hippo.
Where it stands
An instant Letterboxd darling and already a fixture of the new queer canon — the rare festival breakout that fans, not just critics, adopted on sight.
Did you know? At its Cannes Un Certain Regard premiere the film got a seven-minute standing ovation and went on to win the section's Best Screenplay prize — a striking landing for Harry Lighton's debut feature, adapted from Adam Mars-Jones's novel Box Hill.
Named by the director
- Roma (2018) — Lighton cited Cuarón's camera language — shots developing through slow pans — as a direct influence, including on the way one of Pillion's party scenes opens.
- The Worst Person in the World (2021) — Lighton named Trier's film as a model for staying playful and light on its feet while handling heavy material — and a song in Pillion is taken directly from it.