‘Graphic’ biker film with Alexander Skarsgård receives seven-minute standing ovation at Cannes

Pillion sees Harry Potter star Harry Melling enter a gay romance with the leader of a biker gang

Alexander Skarsgård’s new film Pillion, about a BDSM relationship between two bikers, received a seven-minute standing ovation after its premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

The Infinity Pool (2023) actor, who planted a cheeky kiss on Pedro Pascal’s face, who was in the audience for the screening, stars alongside Harry Potter star Harry Melling in a queer BDSM biker dramedy.

The film centres on Colin, a shy and awkward Londoner played by Melling, best known for portraying Dudley Dursley in Harry Potter.

When Colin encounters the god-like bike gang leader Ray (Skarsgard), a risky encounter ensues in an alley outside of the local Primark.

Colin soon enters into a relationship with Ray as his submissive, forced to sleep at the foot of the bed and carry out all the household chores.

The film, which is based on the 2020 novel Box Hill: A Story of Lew Self-Esteem by Adam Mars-Jones marks the directorial debut of Harry Lighton.

Cast members Alexander Skarsgard and Harry Melling pose during a photocall for the film "Pillion" at the 78th Cannes Film Festival (REUTERS)

The title refers to the person who sits on the back of a motorcycle and wraps their arms around the driver’s waist.

During the film’s introduction, Lighton admitted to having some nerves at his Cannes debut. He said hoped the film would make the audience laugh, think and a little “horny”.

Skarsgard arrived on stage, on theme, in a pair of tight black leather plants. Receiving a shout-out from Cannes chief critic Thierry Fremaux, he turned around and shook his backside.

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Alexander Skarsgard at the 78th Cannes Film Festival (REUTERS)

Describing the film as “Fifty Shades of BDSM Wallace and Gromit in brilliant Bromley biker romance”, The Guardian awarded Pillion four stars, noting that it manages to remain “funny and touching” despite its more alarming premise.

The Times also awarded the film four stars, with the headline: “Graphic oral sex, sadomasochistic wrestling and a truly X-rated camping trip – this is Dudley Dursley as we’ve never seen him before.” Ed Potton celebrated Skarsgard’s “brilliantly minimalist” performance, “hinting at neuroses and even kindness behind the flawless exterior”.

The Hollywood Reporter wrote: “Abuse, low-key cringe humour and unexpectedly sweet romance somehow co-exist in Brit writer-director Harry Lighton’s audacious first feature. 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.”

Despite its largely glowing review, Variety noted that the “story might have worked better as a subtext to a larger narrative”, while one five-star Letterboxd reviewer joked that “the intimacy coordinator must have worked overtime”.