Film Review - Pillion
Images courtesy of Rialto Distribution.
Spoilers for the novel Box Hill ahead.
Pillion bizarrely retrofits Adam Mars-Jones tragicomic novella Box Hill within the structure of a rom-com, defanging the complex sexual politics of the original text in favour of a highly marketable premise. Oliver Coates’ score, Grace Snell’s costume design and Nick Morris’ cinematography build a beautiful film, but director Harry Lighton’s indecisive story choices and tonal incongruence spoil the finished product. Moments of greatness shine through - the scene where Colin and Ray wrestle wearing assless lycra unitards to Tiffany’s ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ stands out for its physical comedy, but other scenes fall flat.
Lighton’s lighthearted erotic comedy is a marked departure from its source text. Many of the more ‘controversial’ aspects of Mars-Jones’ novel are absent from Pillion - the age gap between Colin and Ray, their meeting at a cruising ground, Ray’s emotional abuse, and Ray’s death are all left out or altered significantly. After reading the novella and watching the film, it’s hard to understand why Lighton felt the need to pursue a fantasy rewrite instead of starting from scratch with a similiar-but-different original script.
The rules of Ray and Colin’s dynamic are loose and undefined, struggling with the same story-logic issue Anora tripped over - if the audience is told nothing about the main character during the setup, then how are they supposed to reliably interpret a character’s decision-making as accurate to their personality? Ray and Colin are painfully underdeveloped characters, despite Skarsgard and Melling’s complimentary performances. Lighton doesn’t address consent, leaving out complex interiority discussing power, control and what it means to ‘sign a contract’ you ‘never read the fine print’ (of). Through his directorial choices, Lighton rid Box Hill of everything that made it a poignant text and created something almost unrecognisable.
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Pillion is screening in cinemas now. For tickets and more info, click here.