Harry Melling (left) and Alexander Skarsgard in 'Pillion.' Courtesy of Cannes Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling embrace the bizarre, erotic, and emotionally fraught in Pillion, a film that's as much a tender romance as it is a kink-informed journey of self-discovery. Directed by Harry Lighton in his feature debut, the movie features Melling as a nice suburban London boy who opens up, in more ways than one, when he begins a relationship with Skarsgård's leather-clad biker, becoming his submissive. (The film's title refers to the seat occupied by the passenger riding behind the driver on a motorcycle and, in the U.K., is also queer parlance for a bottom.) Related Stories News Pokémon Company Pushes Back Against ICE Raid Video's Use of Iconic Anime Theme Song Movies Zurich Film Festival Stakes Its Claim as Awards Season Stop Pillion, which premiered in Cannes' Un Certain Regard section and bows at the Zurich Film Festival on Sept. 29, leans hard into authenticity, embracing the awkward transitions of intimacy rather than sanitizing them. As The Hollywood Reporter's review notes, "abuse, low-key cringe humor and unexpectedly sweet romance somehow co-exist" in Lighton's almost rom-com about consent, devotion, and identity. Skarsgård and Melling sat down with THR to talk about intimacy, love, and why they want to bring "awkward sex" back to the movies. Let's talk about sex. There's a lot of it in this film, some quite intense scenes. What was that like for both of you? Alexander Skarsgård: Actually, I was quite excited about the sex scenes. Harry Melling: Me too, very excited. Alexander Skarsgård: I was excited because they're interesting. And that's quite rare. Most sex scenes on screen are quite boring and sanitized. Here, we really leaned into the authenticity, the awkwardness of sex, which I thought was really funny and sweet. It's quite rare to have a sex scene that actually has an emotional journey. There's stuff happening, and it's like erotic and sexy, but then it's awkward, and then it's funny. I think Harry [Lighton] instilled a lot of trust in us. We just felt very comfortable. There was no trepidation going in. Quite the opposite. We were excited to jump in. Harry Melling: It's also quite nice that, like Alex said, there's so much narrative laced into the sex. It's not just like there's a film and then here's a sex scene. They are so much a part of the movie, certainly for [my character] Colin's journey in going from inexperience to being a bit more experienced. Threading that narrative in there, and getting all the clumsy beats and the awkward beats, felt like a continuation of the narrative. It was thrilling to continue Colin's journey within these very detailed sex scenes. Were there any scenes that went too far that got cut out of the final version? Alexander Skarsgård: Oh yeah, we've got some extra scenes we've saved for the Christmas Special edition, a triple X version for the kids. No, we shot some stuff that was a bit more graphic, that Harry decided not not use, but nothing too crazy. Harry, why did you want to do this role? Colin is probably the sweetest character you've ever played. Harry Melling: Well, I'd argue my guy in The Queen's Gambit gets quite sweet towards the end, but yes, Colin does feel incredibly delicate, especially when we first meet him. He's so inexperienced, but he still desperately wants something to happen to him. Which is what leads him to [ Skarsgård's character] Ray and the moment of flight that he gives him. You're right, Colin is quite different from a lot of the characters I've played; he's certainly a million miles away from my character in Harry Potter [Dudley Dursley], but I think I've played a few nice guys scattered in between. Alexander, what was the appeal in playing Ray for you? Alexander Skarsgård: I thought it was an incredibly fascinating character and totally something I hadn't seen or definitely hadn't been part of before. He's such an enigmatic character. I was like: 'Who is this guy?' The film offers zero backstory for Ray. Did you develop any yourself to understand him? Alexander Skarsgård: Nope. I did zero homework. I just walked in and did it. I never do any homework. But this time, I actually had an excuse. I could say: 'Well, the character is an enigma, even for me.' In your characters' last scene, it looks like something is happening to Ray, just behind the eyes, some sort of revelation.
Alexander Skarsgård: Yeah, when we were shooting that scene, I thought I might be discovering some things I didn't expect to discover in Ray. There are cracks in his façade - we can tell that there might be something hidden, maybe there is a desire for something else, or something from his past that has affected his choices. But again, I didn't do